A different life
by Igraine
Summary: AU. What if Max and the other X5s had never escaped in '09? how would everyones lives be different?
1. A different meeting

1  
  
Disclaimer-They don't belong to me. Nothing does. Though one day, one day Alec will. He WILL!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Summery- What if the escape of '09 never happened? How would everyone's life be different? AU, this could be a Max Zack fic, or a Max Alec fic, I'm not sure. Feedback will however contribute to my decision ;)  
  
Rating- pg-13 could change  
  
A/N-This is the first AU fanfic I've written, but hopefully it's good any ways. Please review, so I know weather I should continue it. Plus, reviews make me happy, so I don't have to think about the travesties that went on in the season finale episode of dark angel. God Logan is beginning to bother me. Here's the thing, as much as it hurts me to admit it, Alec and Max aren't together. BUT Logan doesn't know that, yet he is still all 'oh hey Max, let me put some rubber gloves on so I can grope you' I always liked Logan, though not the Max/Logan relationship, but my opinion is dropping. And what was with him saving Alec? Alec is way WAY stronger then Logan. And then of course he had to rub it in. Okay, I'm going to stop now so that I don't go further into rant mode. This Fanfic could be Max/Alec, that's what I usually write, but lately I've been thinking a lot meaning a more then healthy amount about Zack, who by the way I'm very concerned about at the moment. He doesn't know why he's different from regular people, and there's all this Xenophobia going on, nut Max is to 'Logan Logan Logan' to think about her brother who is the only reason she's alive, oh, I'm doing it again. Okay, so any ways, it might be a Max/Zack. Feedback will affect my opinion, so review and tell how you want it to be;)  
  
A different life  
  
Chapter 1......A different meeting  
  
"This as been a streaming freedom report. Peace. Out." Logan stopped his message, and turned off his computer. He slid his chair back, and leaned his head back. He slipped his glasses back over his eyes, and stared up at the ceiling. His lonely trance was interrupted by a knock at the door. He took a deep breath and went to answer the door.  
  
At the door to his penthouse apartment stood three people, two girls and a guy. The guy stood in the middle, tall, with a stiff face, yet his face seemed to soften as he smiled in a greeting. Her had blond hair cut to fall just over his ears, with bangs styled neatly over eyebrows that perked over blue eyes. His muscular body was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a white t-shirt. He had a hand on the back of both girls, as if to say, these girls are mine, and if you even look at them wrong you will die.  
  
To his right was a girl who was about Logan's height. She had light brown hairs that fell in sandy wisps around her bright face, to her shoulders. Her full lips were painted red, which made her smiling teeth look even whiter. Her bright green eyes sparkled with mischief. Her slim form was dressed in white blouse that buttoned up to a necklace with an amber stone, and a black skirt that fell inches above her inches.  
  
And on his left stood the most beautiful woman Logan had ever seen. She was smaller then the other girl, short. Her skin was a creamy tan color that made her look exotic. Her dark hair curled, framing her face, and brushing her shoulders gracefully. Her eyes were dark and almond shaped, hidden under long dark lashes. Her lips were full, and uncolored, left their natural pink color. Logan was almost out of breath just looking at her. She was dressed in a dark blue tank top, and leather pants.  
  
"Hi" The tall blond hared man said, "We just moved in downstairs, thought we'd meet our neighbours," he said.  
  
"I'm Jondy," the woman on his right said with a smile, "the sister" she said pointing to Zack. Her voice was bright and friendly, like a melody.  
  
"I'm Max," the last girl said. Her voice was smooth, almost like a purr, she motioned towards Zack and Jondy, "I'm the best friend," she told Logan.  
  
"I'm Logan," he said holding out a hand. Zack shook his hand with a strong grip, and the girls did the same with surprising strength. "Would you like to come in for tea or something?" Logan asked. He could use some friends. Lately he found himself growing more and more lonely.  
  
They all smiled brightly, and in unison said "Sure". Logan stepped aside and let them in. "Oooo, classy place," the girl who had introduced herself as Jondy said in her musical voice. Logan noticed that part of her height was thanks to very tall black heals, that made a soft clicking noise as she walked around his apartment, admiring the furniture and art. She ran her slender fingers that were tipped with red polish across the velvety surface of his couch. Her eyes gleamed with curiosity as they ran over every inch of his apartment.  
  
The other girl, Max she had said her name was, staid close to the boy named Zack. Zack, though obviously younger then Logan, seemed to be slightly older then the girls, and Max, appeared to be slightly younger then Jondy. "So, what brings you all to Seattle?" Logan asked them in what hoped was a friendly voice. It had been a while since he had socialized.  
  
"Me and Max just started college here," Jondy said. "And Zack, being slightly over protective of us both, wanted to stay with us and help us get settled in. He's only my brother, but Max his like a sister to both of us" she explained.  
  
Logan fought not to raise his eyebrows at this. Zack was definitely looking like the over protective brother, but he didn't exactly look at Max very brotherly. "Ah, well welcome to Foggle Towers, I'll go make some coffee, or tea" he said.  
  
"Coffee" the three of them said in unison again.  
  
Logan went into his kitchen, and began to make some coffee, "So how long have you guys known each other" he said.  
  
"Well, our parent my parents were friends with theirs so, forever" Max said in her velvety voice.  
  
The soft sound of clicking heels informed him that Jondy was coming into the kitchen. Her slim form appeared around the corner, beautifully swaying her hips as she walked. "You really have such a nice place here. I love all the art" her voice flowed like music from her mouth, in an almost seductive tone. "You have such good taste," she said.  
  
"Ah... Thank you" Logan said. "So, how do you all like your coffee?" He asked in a smooth, relaxed tone.  
  
"Oh, uh..." she hesitated as if never been asked the simple question. "Me and Max will have ours with cream and sugar, and Zack will have his black" she said the line carefully, as if it had been rehearsed.  
  
Logan nodded and continued to go about preparing the coffee, "You'll like this coffee, it's Swiss" Logan said. She nodded; this clearly meant nothing to her. He put the coffee on a tray, and started to lift it, but was stopped by Jondy.  
  
"Why don't you show me around the kitchen" she said.  
  
"Uh... well, this is the kitchen" he said motioning his arms around the room, "there's really not much to see", he picked up the tray, and went to exit the kitchen.  
  
"Where's your bathroom?" Jondy said blocking his exit.  
  
A back part of Logan's mind noticed that her behaviour was slightly suspicious, but he didn't think too much about it. "Oh, just go down that hall, and it's to the right" he said pointing down the hall.  
  
"Oh, thanks" she said and smiled sweetly, turning and walking down the hall.  
  
Logan walked back into the living room. Max was sitting quite comfortably strutted out on a chair. Zack was sitting on the arm of the chair with that dominant hand of his on her shoulder. He was leaned over whispering into her ear. They both looked up when Logan entered the room. Max's curls bounced around her face as she quickly turned her head in his direction, "Thank you for inviting us in," she purred lightly, "It's so hard to find nice people these days, I'm glad we have such a nice neighbour." She smiled softly.  
  
Logan smiled back, "well, I don't get out often, so I don't meet that many people. It's nice to have company though," he said. After a few minutes, Jondy re-entered the room, and the four of them talked for a while, until Zack, Max, and Zack all stood up, excusing themselves, saying that they had to start unpacking.  
  
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Jondy softly shut the door behind them, then let out a loud groan and kicked off her shoes. "Those are the most uncomfortable things I've ever worn in my life," she said. She let out a tiny whimper as she slowly walked over to the couch and sat down. She brought her feet up on to the couch and put them in Zack's lap, "Be a good brother and rub my feet" she said sweetly.  
  
"You know Jondy, just because we're not at Manticore, and you can complain, doesn't mean you have to" Zack said pushing her feet away from him.  
  
"Your so awful to me" Jondy said sniffing softly, "I don't know why I put up with this. I bet you'd give Max a foot rub," She said.  
  
"Can we please leave me out of this" Max said. She walked over and sat on the arm of the couch. She put an arm around Zack's shoulder, "Don't mind Zack, he's just grumpy because he had to smile" she said looking at him. She stood up again and looked around their small apartment. It was empty, yet still nicer then Manticore. There was a couch in the middle of an empty room, and a desk off to the side with computer equipment, to establish a link with Manticore. There were two bedrooms: One for Zack, and one for Jondy and Max. No beds though, just sleeping bags. There were box's all over the place, so that if someone happened to come over for any reason, their story would seem believable.  
  
"Can we please get back to the mission?" Zack said. Ah, the mission. It always came back to the mission with Zack. Of course he was their CO, so it was only appropriate. Max let out a small sigh of annoyance. She didn't understand why this mission required the three of them. It was so simple. They were supposed to find out if this Logan Cale was Eyes Only. That's all. If he was, then they would copy his computer files, and go back to Manticore. Manticore would see if he was a threat to them. If so, he would be terminated. If not, then Manticore would just keep a close eye on him, and make sure he didn't become one.  
  
But Manticore had to make everything so difficult. Max, Zack, and Jondy all had to be charming, get his trust, etc. Jondy's job was to charm him so that he would ask her to dinner. While they were out to dinner, Max and Zack would go through his things, see what they could fine, and copy the files. After that, mission was completed. Easy as pie, whatever that meant. "Did you find anything suspicious?" Max asked Jondy.  
  
Jondy shook her head. "Not really, though he did have a pretty pricey computer set up. Quite impressive if you ask me" she said, "It's a little suspicious, but did you see the guy? He's like thirty, and he stays in all day. I have more of a life then him, and I spend my days locked up in a government facility. He could just be a big computer geek," she said.  
  
"Well, just make with the charming, and get him to ask you out" Zack said.  
  
"Oh come on. I was being charming. If I was throwing myself at him anymore, I would of literally of been throwing myself at him" she said. She Sunk down into the couch and crossed her arms frowning, "I wasn't trained to be charming. I was trained to be a killer," she said pouting.  
  
Max came back over to the couch and plopped down in-between Jondy and Zack. "I though you were plenty charming" she said smiling. She turned to Zack, "well mister CO, you better call in home and check in," she said.  
  
Zack nodded and walked into the room he used as his. A devious smile stretched across Jondy's face. "Max, I may have done something that would make daddy Lydecker mad" she admitted. Daddy Lydecker. She always called him that; it was her way to make fun of him. Max raised her eyebrows in question. "It would upset big brother also," she said. Max crossed her arms and waited for Jondy to tell her what she did. Jondy reached into the back of her skirt, and pulled out a CD case, she held it up with an innocent grin.  
  
"You stole from him?" Max said. She couldn't believe Jondy would do this. And music of all things. Though, at Manticore in the rec room, they were allowed music, they often didn't listen to it. "Jondy, if he notices it's missing, then he'll know it was one of us" Max scolded. She was kind of curious about the CD though. They were only allowed to listen to music that had been censored by Manticore.  
  
"Oh please, this was like, the only CD that wasn't some sort of symphony, or classical. We can get that at Manticore. This was probably a gift that he's only even listened to once" Jondy said. She held the CD up and looked at it. "Blondie" she said, "some pre pulse band from the 80s." she walked over to the computer and put the CD in.  
  
Zack came out into the main room, right as the pop sounding music began to escape the speakers. "Oh god Jondy, where did you get that" Zack said, listening with distaste to the music.  
  
"Why do you assume it was me and not Max?" Jondy asked with a pout.  
  
"Because Max isn't known for stealing things from our targets" Zack said crossing his arms and giving her a stern look.  
  
"Yeah, well you got me there" Jondy said. She smiled. "Does it matter where I got it? Listen. This is great" she said bobbing her head to the music.  
  
"Great is not what I would call this, what is it?" he asked.  
  
"It's some pre pulse band, the song is called," she paused for a moment to stop and look at the back of the CD case, "'Heart of Glass', whatever that means." she said.  
  
"Well, I don't like it. Turn it off. I'd rather listen to that classical crap the give us back at Manticore, and I bet Max feels the same way," he said looking to Max for back up.  
  
"I'm hungry" Max said in reply. "And this mission sucks. I don't want to have to be all friendly while we wait for Jondy to seduce this Logan guy. Why am I even needed, you guys could of done this by yourselves" she said crossing her arms.  
  
Jondy, moving to the music, bopped over to Max "Do you always have to complain so much. I have the way worse job and you don't here me complaining" Jondy said. Max sighed in annoyance. Jondy was always so bubbly. It really annoyed her sometimes.  
  
Zack walked over to Max, "You wanna go get some food? Leave Jondy to her music?" he suggested.  
  
"Sounds like a plan. I'm thinking food with lots and lots of flavor" Max said. They didn't get a very big variety of food and Manticore, so when they had the chance for good food, she took it. "I'm thinking pasta," she said.  
  
Zack nodded, "I'm definitely on the same wavelength as to there, baby sister" Zack said putting on his leather jacket.  
  
"Zack, I told you to stop calling me that. I'm 19, I know over twenty different ways to kill a man twice my size with a paper clip" Max said annoyed at the nick name.  
  
"And I told you that I'm the CO, and I'll be giving the orders. Be sides, I'm twenty one, and also know over twenty ways to kill a man twice my size with a paper clip, so you are my baby sister" Zack said throwing Max her jacket. She put it on, and Zack threw an arm around her shoulder, leading her out of the apartment.  
  
"Bring me back food" Jondy called after them, shaking her head. Jondy had eyes. And her eyes had seen Zack's eyes looking at Max. And there was nothing brotherly about the way he looked at her. She went into the room she shared with Max and began to change into more comfortable clothing.  
  
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	2. A different Motion

A Different Life  
  
A different Motion  
  
Max made a sound that was close to a purr as she sank down into her seat and put a hand on her very full stomach. Zack sat across from her, still strait in his seat. Max smiled at him, she couldn't believe it. They were out on an away mission, had as much freedom as they would ever get, and he orders the plainest meal on the menu, eats half of it, and keeps his soldiers posture in his seat. She shook her head.  
  
"What?" Zack asked raising an eyebrow.  
  
Max shook her head, "Nothing, come on, let's go" she said standing up. Her body protested at the movement, wishing to stay seated after being stuffed with to much food. She got up any way though. Zack handed her jacket, and she slipped it over he shoulders. "I'll go wait outside while you pay the bill" Max said.  
  
"I don't like the idea of you waiting out there alone" he said in that big brother tone he always got with her.  
  
"Oh yes, I better wait in here with you since I'm so weak and defenseless" Max said crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. Zack waved her away with a hand, and she went and sat on a bench that was outside of restaurant. She almost didn't blame him for not wanting he rout by herself. It was awful here. The streets were polluted, the air was dirty, and everywhere people were loitering on the streets. People who had no homes, no money, and people that had not care for others. She shivered to herself. It may be tough at Manticore, but at least she had a warm bed to sleep in, and food at every meal, and roof over her head. That was more then could be said for most people out here.  
  
"Are you cold?" Zack asked coming up behind her. Apparently he had been there long enough to see her shiver. Max shook her head and stood up. "Let's go, I got some soup for Jondy, and I don't want it to get cold" he said.  
  
Max stood, "You got her soup?" she asked. "She's going to be mad that we went to a nice Italian restaurant, and brought her back soup" she told him.  
  
"What's wrong with soup? what else does she need?" Zack asked confused. Max shook her head, he would never learn. It wasn't that she needed something else, it's that she would want something else. "Jondy will be happy with soup" he said.  
  
Max almost laughed at that. Jondy would most certainly NOT be happy with soup. they had soup at Manticore all the time. Max wouldn't be surprised if Jondy threw the soup in Zack's face. But she smiled sweetly at Zack anyway, and said, "Your probably right".  
  
Zack nodded, probably not realizing how wrong he was. He placed a hand on the small of her back, and began to lead her back to Foggle towers. Max almost said something about this possessive action, but decided not to. It bothered her, almost. When ever they went on away missions, if they were out in public, he always had a hand on her in some way. The shoulder, the back, etc... He gave every male that passed them by a warning look, as if to say 'stay away'. It always bothered her a first. She wasn't his possession, and it annoyed her that he acted like that in public. But after a while, she realized that she tended to get a lot of attention from males, and Zack just did it to save her the trouble of dealing with them. She was used to is now. And the warm wait of his hand on her back was nearly comforting.  
  
It was nice to know that she wasn't alone in this broken world, because sometimes it really felt like she was. She almost shuddered at the realization that she missed Manticore. It was a jail, a prison. She never got rest there, always training. She always had orders to follow, and was always called, '452'. The designation bothered her more then anything else. It stripped her of all personality she tried to have.  
  
But in a weird twisted way, Manticore was home. It was where her family was. It was hard to get through the day with out Jondy's bouncy almost air head like comments. Or with out Tinga and Zack's stern looks. She missed Brin mocking Lydecker when he turned his back, and she missed the shocked look Syl would get when Brin did this. She missed Evas comforting words, and Ben's stories that she had memorized. And life just wasn't life with out Zane and Krit goofing off and getting in trouble.  
  
And though she always tried to ignore it, she missed Alec. Even at the moment she tried to push the thought of him away. He was always taunting her, and was one of the few that could beat her in hand to hand combat. If she messed up on a mission, he always seemed to be the first to hear, and was sure to be waiting around the corner to make her feel bad about it. He was annoying, and nothing like Ben, who was dearer then a brother to her. Max remembered the day he got added to their sector.  
  
It had been nearly two years earlier. He had failed an away mission. Max didn't know much about it, only that he refused to follow orders. Alec wouldn't talk about it. But since he was such a rebel he was added to their group. Though Max's team was the best, they also tended to get in trouble a lot. They had a tendency to not follow orders, and to show more feelings then was exceptable. The only reason they got away with this was because they were the best. Alec was some what of an outcast to their team though. He looked exactly like Ben, which made everyone nervous, and he didn't grow up with them. If the ten of them were brothers and sisters, Alec, the eleventh family member, was a cousin that got on everybody's nerves.  
  
Especially in Max's case. The first time they ever fought in training, he had won. Max still remembered the delighted look on Renfros face. So of course they were paired together as often as possible. And though Alec didn't win every time, he always got this annoying little cocky grin when he did, and would say simply, 'another point for me'. And whenever Zack and Ben, or any of the other males in their group waited for Max after evening training's to go to dinner, Alec would get that same grin and would say 'how sweet, your 'brothers' are waiting'. Never mind that half the time it was Syl or Brin of one of her other sisters waiting. They just liked to stick together. When Max got out earlier, she would wait for one of them. But oh no, Alec always had to say something. Especially when it was Zack.  
  
Zack hated Alec. He hated him with a passion. The thought of Zack pulled Max to the present, where she was walking with her brother down the dirty streets of Seattle. She leaned slightly into the warmth of her brother, and they continued to walk until they reached the apartment complex.  
  
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Jondy reached out her small hand and knocked on the small door to Logans pent house apartment. She was quickly growing weary of this assignment. It had been four days. FOUR DAYS. And Logan hadn't showed the slightest interest in her. He hadn't taken his eyes off of Max however. Jondy had suggested that Max try to lure Logan away, but Zack pretty much screamed at her for that. It would end tonight one way or another. If Jondy couldn't get him out of the house, then they would work around him. Quietly.  
  
He answered the door with a smile. Jondy felt like punching him when she saw the disappointed look he got when he noticed it was just her. No Max. Talk about someone Jondy was tired of living in the shadow of. Max was no prettier then she was. And though she was better at some exercises, Jondy still excelled. "Hey Jondy" Logan said.  
  
Jondy out on her sexiest smile, "Hey you" she said. She made her eyes wide and stared up at him. Something she had noticed in the past, is that people had trouble resisting her when she looked them in the eye. "Can I come in?" she asked sweetly.  
  
"Sure" Logan said standing to the side. Jondy walked so that she brushed against him slightly as she moved past him. "You want coffee or something?" he asked her.  
  
"Oh sorry, but I can't stay long" Jondy said looking down. She held her head down for a moment, then looked up, forcing her bottom li to tremble slightly. "Logan, do you like me?" She asked quietly, trying to make her voice sound small and hopeful. She was beginning to hate herself for her part in this mission. Logan was a nice guy, and she was completely manipulating him. She could tell her game was working from the look that washed across his face.  
  
Confusion mostly. But behind those blue windows, was his soul and his soul showed interest. "uhh, Yeah" he stumbled over his words. "I think that your a really good person, and am happy to have you living in the building" he said the next part with more confidence.  
  
A really good person. Ha. She was here to deceive him. to foil his plans. If he was eyes only that is. For all she knew he could be a perfectly normal guy. She hoped that was it. Okay Jondy, time to move into action, and prove that your every bit as good as Max. she told herself. She stepped close to him, so that they were almost touching. Almost. She brought her face up near his, so that her lips were mere inches away from his. "Do you think maybe you'd like to have dinner sometime?" she asked him, being sure to keep eye contact. "Maybe tonight" she could tell that he smelled, and liked the light flowery scent of her perfume, for he breathed it in deeply.  
  
"I don't know" he said softly, "I'm like, ten years older then you Jondy, and I don't think that your brother Zack would approve of this" he said.  
  
God he was making this hard. She stepped a little closer to him, and put a hand up on his chest. She tilted her face down, and closed her eyes, letting her eyelashes slowly brush across her cheeks. "I don't really care what Zack thinks" she said, regaining eye contact. She swallowed, she almost had him. She moved just a little closer, so that now her body was brushing up against his, "Please? We could have fun" she bit down on her lip trying to maintain the hopeful look.  
  
"Uh-Uh" he stuttered, looking for a reply, "I, uh. okay" he said smiling slightly.  
  
"Great" she smiled her most charming smile, and stepped back, putting plenty of space between them, "I'll come by around seven" she said. She left the apartment with out giving him a chance to reply.  
  
Max and Zack were waiting for her when she stepped onto the elevator. "You got yourself a date?" Max asked.  
  
"Of course I do" Jondy said. A satisfied smile played across her lips.  
  
"Oh how exciting Maxie" Zack said, "Jondy has her first date" he taunted. "And did you see him? Oh that Logan is so dreamy. And rich. Nothing better then handsome money" he said in a mocking tone.  
  
Max smiled, suppressing a laugh. Zack happily smiled back at her, glad that he had amused Max. "Oh please" Jondy said annoyed at them. "Zack, if you were ordered to date Logan, you would. It's orders. I'm following my part of the mission. Now leave me alone" she said.  
  
Max and Zack continued to exchange their immature glances, which annoyed Jondy even further. She was so tired of them and their annoying little relationship. Zack and Max always had this thing. They were distant from each other in a way, but the always knew what the other one was thinking. And since Zack was oh so obviously in love with Max, she got away with almost anything.  
  
Of course Max was completely oblivious to the fact that Zack was in love with her. She lived in this lovely fantasy world where they all remained brother and sister. She obviously didn't see the looks she got from both Zack, and Zane. Or the way Krit always stuck close to Syl, watching her, and sometimes, when he thought no one was looking, would softly stroke Syls face, and kiss her. Manticore seemed to live under the same delusion. It seemed some what obvious however that if you stick people that are not birth related together for their lives, then eventually, feelings may spark up. Of course the one man Jondy liked didn't seem to even notice.  
  
But none of this mattered to Max. Or Manticore. They both enjoyed their fantasy worlds, and chose to stick in them. Jondy crossed her arms in annoyance. She knew it was completely beyond reason for her to be mad at Max at the moment, but she was.  
  
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	3. A different mission

A/N- This will be the last chapter that Logan will be in, for a while any ways. I'm not too happy with it, but I hope you'll enjoy it any ways. please review, I love them it makes me happy, and it makes it easier to write. Thanks;)  
  
A/N/N- I'm really sorry about the long wait. But I've been writing my other fanfics also, and I was out of town for a while, with out access to a computer to write on. I'll try to be quicker next time, but please keep in mind that after this chapter, I'll be writing the next chapter to my other fic, Are you truly here, and I've been thinking of adding another chapter to my fic, a chance to be happy. On another note, I'd like to state that in my fic, there wont be clones like on the show. (No Sam Max's clone, or anyone else). And in my Fic, Alec is NOT Ben's clone. They are Twins. I'm sorry, but I can't stand the idea of Alec being a clone. And they're just way too different to be clones. Thanks;)  
  
A Different Life  
  
A different Mission  
  
  
  
Jondy stepped onto the elevator and nervously shifted her feet. She was dressed quite plainly. Manticore didn't see the need for fancy clothing, so she was about to go to dinner wearing a pair of 'peddle pusher' pants, and a red button up blouse. Her feet were in a quite comfortable pair of black shoes with no heel. The ride seemed to be taking forever, and she desperately wanted it to end. She wanted the whole night to be over. she wanted to go back home to her family.  
  
She was tired of having only Max and Zack as company. They thought in too much of the same way, and they had the tendency to neglect Jondy. She missed Krit. She missed Tinga. She missed Zane. She missed Ben. And everyone else. Except Alec. She did not miss him. Jondy didn't like Alec, and he returned the distaste in full. But she'd still rather be seeing him then Logan. She was beginning to feel guilty. This man was not bad. She knew this. Yet she was working against him. If they found what Manticore wanted them too find, and Jondy was almost certain that they would, it would most likely result in Logan Cales death.  
  
The ding of the elevator brought her back to reality, and she stepped off of the elevator. she walked to Logans door, and knocked quietly. She put on her winning smile, and forced her body to remain relaxed, and tried her best to look comfortable. It was only a moment before Logan answered the door. He smiled at her, "Hello Jondy, come in" he said. His pleasant tone felt like a knife stabbing her. He had no idea of what was going to happen to him.  
  
She stepped in though and said in an equally pleasant "So where are we going?" she turned so that she was once again facing him.  
  
"This small Italian place about a block down" he told her, "It's nice but casual, and it's close so I figured we could just walk there".  
  
"That sounds just lovely" Jondy said "shall we go then?" she wanted to get this whole night over with. Hopefully, they would complete the assignment, and be back at Manticore this night. She would never have to know, or even care about Logan Cale again.  
  
"We shall" Logan said. He slipped on a jacket, and they left. Jondy took a deep breath, and put back on her smile. She could do this. She could get through this night. Zack and Max were looking out the window right now, waiting for them to pass. They would be in and out in fifteen minutes, mission complete.  
  
About half way to the restaurant, Jondy noticed Logan looking slightly agitated. He put his hands in his pockets then his coat pockets, "I'm really sorry Jondy, but I think I left my wallet at the apartment, we'll have to go back" he told her, an apologetic look on his face.  
  
"Oh, that's okay, I could pay" Jondy said. Max and Zack wouldn't be watching them for them yet, it was likely that if they went back now, then Logan would find some trespassers in his apartment.  
  
"Nonsense" Logan said, "We'll just go back. It will only take a minute, sorry about this" he turned, and Jondy had no choice but to follow him, and hope that he didn't go into his computer room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Max flipped through Logans files, looking for anything that had to do with Manticore. She was almost certain now that he was eyes only. they had found more then one thing that had hinted towards it. But she hadn't yet seen anything on Manticore yet. The computer files however could had something. "How much time left" she said to Zack.  
  
Zack was sitting in front of the computer, waiting for the files to copy. He was nervously tapping his fingers on the desk. "The computer says five minutes" Zack said. He turned the chair around so that he was looking at Max, "How are you doing over there?" he asked.  
  
"So far nothing that has anything to do with Manticore" she said. She closed the drawer she had just looked through, and opened the one above it, "You know, if Logan is eyes only, I've got to say, he should be more careful. Those files weren't protected, and none of theses drawers are locked" she commented to Zack.  
  
"Well I don't think he was expecting genetically engineered Manticore soldiers moving in down stairs" Zack said. He turned around again so that he was once again facing the computer. He went back to nervously tapping his fingers. His head shot up as he heard a noise of the apartment, he stood up and walked over to Max. He tapped her on the back, and she looked up at him with a questioning look. Zack put a finger to his lips signaling for her to be quiet, and touched his hear telling her to listen. He heard it again, like a key in the lock. Max's eyes grew wide, and Zack knew that she heard it too.  
  
Her attention turned completely to Zack, waiting for orders. He turned to face the computer, just one minute left. They just needed to wait one minute, then they could be out of here. They heard the door open, and foot steps enter the apartment. "My wallets in the kitchen, I'll just be a second" they heard Logans voice from the front room.  
  
Zack moved closer to Max and put his mouth near her ear, "he must of forgotten his wallet. This isn't a problem, he'll be in and out, then we'll be out" he said in a low voice. Max let out a sigh of relief. Max closed the last drawer of the file cabinet, and Zack walked back over to the computer. He counted down the last five seconds in his head with the computer, and the computer let out a loud noise signaling the job complete. Zack and Max both cringed. Logan would have to be deaf to not of heard that. Zack grabbed the disk out of the computer, and put it in it's case. He slipped the case into the small pack brought with them. Max handed him a file that he had not noticed she had, and he put that in the bag also.  
  
They heard foot steps nearing the computer room. "Logan wait" they heard Jondy say. They heard another set of foot steps moving quickly, "What are you doing" Jondy's voice sweetly said. "I thought you were just gonna get your wallet, come on, let's go now" she attempted to persuade him.  
  
"Did you here that?" he said, "I think I left the computer on, just let me turn it off, it will only take a second" Logan told he.  
  
"Oh, but Logan, can't you just leave it on?" Jondy asked in a whine like voice.  
  
Zack was frozen, he didn't know what to do. They could leave through the window, but that would make noise, and Logan would of entered by then. He looked at Max, she shook her head. He signaled for her to hide, but it was too late, Logan came around the corner, and stopped, blankly staring at them.  
  
Zack begged himself to think of something to say, but nothing cam to him. Max made her eyes wide, hoping for a look of innocence. Not likely. They were both dressed completely in black, and looked quite suspicious. "What are you doing in my house" he said angry. They didn't answer, he took a step towards the phone that was sitting on the desk, and began to dial security. Jondy came up behind him, and kicked the phone out of his hand. "Who are you guys" Logan said surprised by their her action.  
  
Max opened her mouth, but Zack stopped her with a look. "We're no one" Jondy said dramatically. "You aren't even talking to us now, we'll leave and you'll never see us again. In fact, you never did, this is all a dream" she said.  
  
Zack glared at her. Logan looked at her with annoyance. Then, with a speed that Max would not of thought him capable of, Logan shot forward and grabbed a gun out of the top drawer of his desk. He pointed the gun at The three of them, who were now all standing next to each other. "Now, who are you, and why are you in my house" he said.  
  
Zack put out a hand in front of him, "Calm down, don't get all trigger happy on us. We're not going hurt you. In fact, we'll be leaving now". He took a step backwards, and Jondy and Max did the same. They were moving towards the window.  
  
Logan released the safety on his gun, and pointed it at Max, "you're not going any where, until I find out who you are, and what you're doing here" he said.  
  
Zack stopped as soon as he saw the gun aimed at Max. He took a small protective step towards her, and made a motion with his hand. She stepped towards him. "We're exactly who we said we were" she said. She made her bottom lip tremble slightly, trying to look scared. "I'm sorry, please don't kill us" she said sweetly. "It won't save you any ways" she said taking on a different tone. "We know who you are"  
  
Zack gave her a warning look, they did NOT know if he was eyes only. But she paid no attention to Zack, and she continued. "Why do you care. your trying too save people, that are already corrupted and don't want to be saved. But you do it any ways. You sit behind your computer, hiding behind a red white and blue mask. You put your life in danger for people who don't care" she said.  
  
"If I don't do it, then who will" Logan said. His hands were shaking on the gun. It was making Zack nervous. But, Zack had too hand it to Max, they now knew with out a doubt that Logan was eyes only. It had to end here though.  
  
Zack made another movement of his hands towards Jondy, and she nodded in understanding. She took a step near Max. Logan didn't notice any of this, for he was looking at Max. Zack shot forward with super human speed and grabbed the gun from Logans hand. "Sorry Logan, but this conversation just got boring" he said. Max and Jondy turned and jumped through the window, shielding their faces from the glass that broke around them. They landed harmlessly on their feet, and waited for Zack.  
  
"Why do you have such large windows any ways" Zack said. He held the gun pointed at Logan, and slowly stepped back, then turned and jumped out the window, landing near Max and Jondy. He looked at them, "Now, girls, would be a good time to run" he said, and doing as they were told, the three of them took off at a fast run.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"599, was the mission completed successfully?" Lydeker said in his old voice. He said it much louder then necessary, he always did. Max still couldn't figure out why. They all had super hearing, and the loud noise was just an offense to their ears. That, and it was the fifth time tat he had asked this question.  
  
Zack had answered it each time, and Max was tempted to let out s sigh of exasperation when she saw him take a breath to answer it again. "Almost sir!" he said, just as he had said every other time, "Logan Cale discovered our intentions, and we were forced to run, and leave in a hurry. But we did discover that Logan Cale was in fact Eyes only, and we were able to copy the computer files.  
  
Max found herself really hoping that Lydecker would let them go to their evening meal now. She wanted to see everyone. Plus, she had been without food for almost two days now. She was hungry. though she could go without food for a much longer time if needed, she didn't like too. "599, if the target discovered your intentions, and if he know about Manticore as is expected, then he probably guessed that you were sent by Manticore. How is this a mission successfully completed. He knows who you are!" Lydecker shouted.  
  
Max was beginning to catch on now. Lydecker moved to stand in front of Max, "452, was the mission successfully completed?" he shouted in her face.  
  
Max remained calm, and looked strait ahead, managing not to look at him. "No sir" she said. "Our intentions and possibly our identities were discovered" she said in her soldier voice.  
  
Lydecker nodded. Good, she had given him the answer he had been looking for. He stepped back and looked at the three of them. "The three of you are to go to your rooms, change out of your street clothes, and go to the dinning hall. After your meal, your to go back to your rooms and write up a complete summery of the mission, including why it went wrong. you'll have no recreational time tonight. Your dismissed now" he said. with out another word, he turned and left the room, leaving them there.  
  
Jondy rolled her eyes, "god Zack, think you could take a little longer to figure out Lydecker's plan next time?" she said. Her temper was short since they exited Logans through the window. She had cuts on her hands, and on her face. She was irritated by them, and for some reason was deciding to blame Zack for them.  
  
"Leave Zack alone" Max said. Jondy shocked her head and walked out of the room. Max sighed and turned around to face Zack. "I don't understand why she's so upset about this. It's not like we've never had an incident like this before" Max said to Zack.  
  
She's been weird this whole mission." Zack said. He reached out a hand brushed some of Max's loose curls out of her face, letting his fingers touch the soft skin of her face as he did so. Max looked at him, keeping her face free of emotion. she was unsure how to react to this movement. He had done things like this before. Not often though, and she never new how to react. "Don't let her mood bother you Max" he said softly. His voice was deeper then usual Max noticed. He took a small step towards her, so that their bodies were almost touching. Max felt her breathing get deeper, and she noticed that Zack's was doing the same. He began to lean his face down near hers. Max was surprised to find herself moving towards him. There was a moment where they stayed completely still. There mouths were about an inch apart, and Max could feel his warm breath on her face.  
  
She wanted to close the distance, and feel his soft warm lips against hers. The realization of this longing shocked her. Zack had always been a brother to her. But right now the feelings she felt towards him were anything but sisterly. She looked him directly in his deep blue eyes. She thought to herself as she often did that she could see the bluest sky in them when he was happy, and the darkest lake in them when he was angry or sad. Now they sparkled with something Max had never seen in his eyes before. He blinked slowly, his eyelashes brushing against his cheek. That small movement interrupted their moment. Max felt herself coming back to her senses, thinking about where they were, and who she was standing so close to. She saw a same sort of realization move through Zack's eyes. He dropped his hand, and took a large step back. He shook his head " sorry" he said, and left the room before Max could tell him that he didn't have to be.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Max stepped into the crowded dinning hall, and cringed as her sensitive ears picked up the loud noise of everyone talking. It was morning, for some reason the dinning hall was always loudest in the morning. She figured that for normal people it would be the quietest time, but not for transgenics. She smiled at a young X7 who was walking by. The small girl, like all the other younger Xs had her head still shaved, a for some reason, she looked scared. Max wondered what she was afraid of. Probably testing or something. Max shivered remembering some of the first testings she was put through at that age.  
  
She stood the line that was relatively short now, and grabbed a tray. She hated the dinning hall. It was loud, crowded, and always had an unpleasant scent. Max was unaware of it, but the dinning hall, and their meals in it, was probably the closest thing to normal they had at Manticore. She accepted the bowl of unpleasant looking mush that they were served for breakfast, and went over to her dinning unit. Zack hadn't shown up for dinner the night before, and she needed too talk to him.  
  
She cringed as she saw that the last seat at her table. Next to Ben, which was nice, she enjoyed Ben's company. But it was also right across from Alec. Alec always sat near Ben at the table. Max didn't know why. Maybe he felt more like he was a part of their 'family' or something if he stuck near Ben. They were the only two that were actually related in any real way. She slammed her tray down on the table in a some what violent way, and sat down. Ben turned in her direction, and smiled, "morning Maxie" he said in the soft masculine voice he had.  
  
She smiled back at him. "Good morning Ben" she said. She leaned her head on his shoulder for a moment, being happy to be near him again, and taking comfort in his presence. Of all of her 'family' she had missed Ben the most while she was gone. She missed his stories, and his smiles. She didn't know what she would do with out them.  
  
Alec, who had been keeping his head down, looking absently into his bowl of food, now looked up at them. He raised an eyebrow, giving them a curious look. Max glared at him, and lifted her head off of Ben's shoulder. "Don't I get a hug four fifty-two?" he said in his annoying little way.  
  
"No" Max said plainly, not being able to think of a witty remark to throw back at him. "And don't call me that. My name is MAX. And if you can't remember that, then call me 452. Not, under any circumstances, four fifty two, smart Alec" she told him. She had a head ache this morning, and wasn't really in the mood for Alec, and his remarks.  
  
"Max, you wound me. I missed you terribly, and was pained by your absence. you give my brother here a greeting, and I saw you hugging Zane and Tinga last night. I really wanted a hug. A hello A-"  
  
He was cut off bye Max, who knew that he could go on for hours like that given the chance. "I'm deeply sorry. Hello. Missed you too." she said sarcastically, "Now, hurry up and eat your oatmeal, so I can kick your ass in morning warm-ups" she added in a sweet tone.  
  
"By the way" Ben added to the conversation, "We are not brothers. You may look like me, and we may be biologically related, but Max is more of a sibling to me then you'll ever be" he said dryly.  
  
Alec looked back down at his food, "yeah what ever" he said quietly. For a moment Max felt bad for him. He seemed genuinely hurt. Ben had never been mean to Alec, not like everyone else had. And he appeared to be upset at Ben's cruel words. But her feelings of pity for him quickly disappeared a moment latter when Alec looked up and decided to talk to her again. "So, I hear you blew your cover on your away mission" Alec said tauntingly.  
  
"So, I hear you refused to follow orders on your last away mission" Max shot back at him. He hadn't been sent on any away missions since he had refused his orders. Max guessed that they just weren't ready to trust him yet. It hadn't been that long ago after all.  
  
At this comment Alec slammed his spoon down on his tray and stood up. He leaned over the table and looked at her threateningly, "Don't stick your nose were it doesn't belong Max" He said to her. His voice was quiet and deep, full of venom. It actually scared her a bit. His face was close to hers and his eyes pierced into her own. "You think you know, but you don't know anything. It's a cold world out there Maxie, but it's even colder in here. One day you'll see. One day it will happen to you, and I'll be waiting there to see" he continued to look directly into her eyes, not moving back at all. His face was full of a rage that Max couldn't understand, and under hat, pain. She couldn't begin to understand why this had made him so mad. They taunted each other all the time.  
  
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She wanted to move. To tear her gaze away from his, but she couldn't. She felt trapped. She was scared by his rage yet drawn to his pain, wanting more then ever to know what had happened. She was paralyzed by his stare. So she continued to look at him. Until finally He was pulled back. Max was finally able to move her eyes away from Alec's, and she saw Zack there. he had a hand on Alec's shoulder, which had pulled him back from Max, gaining her room to breathe. "Leave her alone" Zack said, his voice strong, his eyes threatening.  
  
"Leave her alone" Alec repeated his words. "Poor old Maxie, let's all leave her alone or else 'brother' Zack will come after you" he shrugged out of Zack's grip. "Why doesn't anyone ever leave me alone?" he asked. Max watched as the rage disappeared from Alec's face, leaving only his unmasked pain. "Well all of you, just leave me alone" he said loud enough so that everyone could hear. He smoothed out his shirt and picked up his tray and began to walk away, stopping next to Max on his way, "see you in the practice room Maxie" he said, then continued to walk away.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A/N-I know this chapter makes things pretty rocky between Max and Alec, but it wont stay like that for to long. I'm not saying this is going to be a Max Alec fic. And I'm not saying this will be a Max Zack fic. I planned out the whole story about a week ago. It will have many twists and turns, and I beg you all to stay with it. Please review so I know that people are still enjoying it. 


	4. A different home

A/N-I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter, and I hope you'll enjoy this one also. Thanks for all the great reviews, keep them up please. I've been writing more lately, plus summers coming, so I'll have more spare time. Happy days;)  
  
A different life  
  
A different home  
  
The one on one rooms were not very large. Max would prefer more space, but she was used to it by now. It was about the size of a small bedroom, with mats stuck to the floor. They were supposed to attack each other, but apparently, they were supposed to be gentle about it. When Max got to the room, Alec was already there, sitting with his legs crossed in a corner. Max guessed he was board, for he was slowly banging his head against the wall. "Take it easy with the head banging Alec, you can't afford any brain damage" she said in a friendly mocking tone.  
  
Alec stopped, and looked up at her. He blinked a few times, as if coming out of a dream. He brought his hands to his face, and dug the heals of his hands into his eyes for a moments. He shook his head and jumped up. "Let's get this over with" he said in a dull tone.  
  
Max was a little bit surprised. Alec was usually more enthusiastic about morning warm ups. He'd come in with a grin on his face, say something about how she ate breakfast with Zack, then comment on how he was going to kick her ass. But Max didn't really know what to expect from Alec after this morning though. At morning meal he had, well, scared her. Max took an immediate attack position, and waited for him to make the first move.  
  
He did after a moment, sending his foot out in the air to connect with Max's hip. Or it would had Max not dogged. This was also unexpected of him. He would usually try something more tricky in the morning, or wait for her to attack. She felt uncomfortable in the room alone with him. Usually they would dance around each other for a long time, until the three fights were completed. They would record who won each fight, then walk to the main training hall together, throwing random insults at each other. She wanted today's three fights to end as soon as possible, so she could skip out of the room and walk to the training hall alone.  
  
Alec noticed Max distracted by thought, and swept out his leg under her feet. Max, still thinking, wasn't ready for this attack and she fell to the ground. Alec dropped down next to her, and pinned her down, before she could jump back to her feet. She struggled trying to push him off of her, but he grabbed her wrists, and held her hands over her head. Her legs were disabled by one of his. She felt like she should be able to do something. She felt like she had lost this fight way to easily. "Okay, you win" Max said defeated.  
  
But he didn't get off of her. He remained as he was, his body pressed against hers, his breath falling in soft warm wisps across her face. His eyes held the strangest look. Much like the one of the morning. She wanted to push him off of her, to run away. He was scaring her. But the glint in his eyes made him look distant, not threatening. He looked afraid, though of what she did not know. The glint softened into sadness, a deep deep sadness that Max could not understand. And now, as much as she had wanted to push him away a moment ago, she wanted to pull her to him now. She wanted to comfort the sadness in his eyes.  
  
He looked like Ben at the moment. He always looked like Ben of course, but usually he held a different aura around him, which made it easy to tell them apart. But now, she saw him as her brother, and wanted to make that sadness disappear. She once again found herself longing to know what had happened just under a year ago.  
  
But she didn't do any of this. she just stared blankly at him, before saying, "Alec, you win, you can get off of me now".  
  
He shook his head and rolled off of her. "One for me" he said, attempting to recover his attitude.  
  
Max wouldn't let him shake this off so easily though. "Alec, call me crazy, but I think something's wrong" she said to him.  
  
"Your crazy" he said and jumped up to his feet. Max followed his lead and got to her feet. They began to circle around each other, and Max felt herself relaxing a little more, this was more like their normal routine. she would talk to Zack about Alec latter, right now all she wanted was to get through the next fight. Alec lunged forward and through a punch at her. She blocked it easily, but didn't see his leg come up, and jam his knee into her side. Max stumbled back. "You a little off your game today 452?" Alec said cockily.  
  
Max glared and jumped forward, her foot connecting with the back of his leg. he stumbled, bringing a hand to on his leg, but recovered quickly. "Not at all" she said smiling. She shot out her foot, attempting to knock him down as she had done to her earlier. He fell, but brought his feet up, wrapping them around her knees, bringing her down with him.  
  
Max hit the floor hard, and Alec was on her again before she had a chance to recover. She used all her strength and rolled them so that she was on top of him now. She only had the upper hand for a moment though, because Alec brought his knee up and used his leg to send her flying off of him, across the room. She hit the wall and fell hard, the wind knocked out of her. Alec was on her again, and he won this fight, again. "Come on Max, usually your not this easy to beat" he was on her, his face close to hers, whispering these words.  
  
"Bite me" Max said, her voice laced with venom.  
  
Alec moved is face closer to her, and made a biting motion with his mouth "One of these days 452, I'm going to bite you" he said.  
  
She glared at him, "Get off of me" she said. He quickly complied, rolling off of her.  
  
"So that's another point for me" Alec said grinning. Max didn't say anything. Alec jumped up to his feet, but Max remained on the floor. He bent over her and reached out a hand, offering to help her up. She accepted the hand with a resentful smile, and allowed him to help her up. "You feeling okay Max?" Alec asked her. Max thought she sensed the tiniest bit of concern in his voice.  
  
This angered her. "Am I okay? I should be asking you that crazy boy" she said glaring at him. Was she okay? of course not. She couldn't stop thinking about Zack. About that moment the day before. She felt herself getting lost in the memory of the day before, of his warm hand on her cheek, his breath hitting her skin, his lips a mere inch away from hers. His body against her.  
  
"Uh... hello, earth to Max" Alec said interrupting her moment. She shot her up, looking at him. "We got one more fight left, I'd like to finish it soon. I hate being late every time." he complained. Max shook her head, flipping her hair out of her face. She went back into the fight position, and waited for him to make his move. She wasn't going to lose this time. "That's more like it" he said taking his attack position.  
  
He shot forward, but Max easily dogged him. He flew forward with his foot out, aiming at her hip again, but she dogged it again. He aimed a punch, she grabbed his fist, and twisted his arm behind his back. She put him in a head lock. "You're not going to win this one Alec" she said into his ear.  
  
Alec bent forward, and flipped her over his back, she landed o her back with a thump. "We'll see" he said. He tried to kick her hip, but she rolled out of the way, and back too her feet. He didn't waste a moment before attacking again, landing a punch in her gut. She stumbled, but kicked his knee cap, causing him to stager. "Why do you always go for my knees?" he asked.  
  
"Because it gives me a chance to do this" she said, kneeing him in the gut. He bent over clutching his stomach, and she hit his back, hard. He fell to the ground, and she quickly had him pinned down. "That's one for me Alec" she said, and jumped off of him.  
  
Alec got to his feet, "you fight dirty, that's the only reason you win" he said. She stretched his arms above his head, "Thanks to you, I'm going to have a back ache all day now" he said with a pout.  
  
"Stop pouting" Max said, "And log our fights into the computer" she ordered Alec. Alec walked over to computer that was lodged into the wall in the corner of the room. He logged in their fights then turned around to face Max again.  
  
She was stretching her arms above her head, arching her back. Her shirt was lifted, exposing a small stretch of smooth tan skin. Her eyes were closed, and her brown curls fell delicately around her face. When she did things like this the feline DNA was all the more obvious in her. Alec watched her stretch, waiting for her to come back to the world, open her eyes, and say some rude thing to him, ruining the picture of beauty that she was. It was the moments like these that he liked, when she wasn't talking, just being. but they never lasted long. She brought her arms back to her side and opened her eyes. "Come on crazy boy" she said as she walked out the door.  
  
He followed her. He really hoped that crazy boy wouldn't become a permanent nick name with her. It was hard enough not thinking about her every moment of every day. He didn't need Max thinking he was crazy now. Especially not because of what had happened with the Berrisford assignment. For a moment he say her. Her light brown hair whisking over her light fair skin. Her lips dancing across her face in a bright friendly smile.  
  
He shook his head. He couldn't think of that. It didn't happen. It didn't matter. Not anymore. It was just a bad incident. He had gone against orders, and deserved to be punished. It wouldn't happen again. Max was looking at him now, she must of said something to him. "What?" Alec asked her, turning to give her his grin.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Alec, you better not ever plan on sleeping again, because as soon as you let your guard down, I'm going to kill you" Max yelled at him. Alec had done stupid things as long as she'd known him, but it had never effected her before. And now, Max was being punished for something Alec had done.  
  
Alec had gotten in a fight with Zane on the way to evening drills. Max still didn't know what it was about. She had been waiting for Alec in the drill room, since they were supposed to run over drills together. All she knew was that some one had said something to piss the other one off, and then they started throwing punches. Max was willing to bet that Alec had started this. And since she was supposed to be going over drills with his, she had to do his punishment with him. It was not fair at all.  
  
They didn't get dinner, they had to spend the evening walking the perimeter of Manticore. No recreational time either, which really made her mad because she had really wanted to talk with Zack. She didn't know what Zane's punishment was. "Why did you have to get in a fight Alec? You know the rules. You know them." She pushed him, and he stumbled back.  
  
It was cold and dark out, and she was grumpy. "Did you ever think that Zane started it?" Alec asked, regaining his balance.  
  
"No I did not" Max said pushing him again. He stumbled back again. "Really Alec, why do you always have to do these things?" she asked pushing him yet another time. "I'm sick and tired of this. Maybe in your unit you did things like this all the time" she pushed him back again. Each time they moved back farther, neither of them seeing the pond behind Alec. "But that's not how we do things in mine. Not get your act together already" she pushed him one last time, but it was one time to many, and he fell back, into the pool of water, grabbing Max, and dragging her down with him.  
  
The water was dirty, and freezing cold. It was also surprisingly deep. It went to Alec's Chest. Alec was able to gain control enough so that he didn't go completely under, but Max, who was pulled down not pushed, went down. She resurfaced after a moment though, and was fuming. Her normally curly hair fell strait , and stuck to her face in strands. Her eye's narrowed, turning a fierce glare his way. "Now look what you've done" She said gasping in air.  
  
"What?" Alec asked, angry now, "YOU pushed ME!" he yelled at her, moving towards her. "It's your fault we're wet" he said.  
  
"We wouldn't of even been out here if it wasn't for you" she said. She lunged forward, and dunked him under the water. He wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her down with him again. This time they stayed under longer, Alec held them down there. Max tried to wriggle free, but Alec wouldn't let her go. He brought them up after a minute though. Max breathed in the air deeply, though she wasn't in that much need of it. She could of stayed under for much longer before she would of felt need for it.  
  
After a few deep breaths, she turned her attention back to Alec, who still had her held against him. She hit his shoulders with her fists, And tried to push her self away from him, but he still wouldn't let go. "Let me go right now" she said thickly.  
  
He shook his head, "not gone happen" he said grinning.  
  
"Oh it is going to happen, or I'll kick your ass" she threatened.  
  
He laughed, which made her even more mad, and she attempted once again to fight her way free. But Alec was strong. "You see, if I let you go, you're just gonna push me, or hit me, or something else unpleasant. The way I see it, I'm already in trouble with you and I'm already gonna get it, so why give up now?" he said cockily.  
  
If it had been anyone but an X5 holding her, they would of been dead by now. She also was in an okward position though. Her arms were pressed between their bodies, making it hard for her to do much with them. He had her lifted, so that her feet weren't touching the ground, and the water made it hard for her to get the leverage she needed to kick him hard. "You are so gonna di-" her angry words were cut off by Alec pressing his lips against hers.  
  
She didn't know what to do. She could kick him, push him away, but she found that she didn't want to. So she just kissed him back. His grip around her waist loosened, and she freed her arms. But instead of hitting him, or punching him, or doing any of the things she had wanted to, she put one hand on his face, and wrapped her other arm behind his neck. she brought her feet up, and wrapped her legs around his waist. He moved his hands up her back, and down to her thigh.  
  
His mouth over hers was the strangest feeling to Max. She had never kissed anyone before, and the experience was new to her. She would of expected it to be the same for Alec, but it didn't seem to be. He kissed as if it was what he was made to. She didn't want the moment to end. But it did. Alec pulled back to look at her, his eyes glazed over with a look of daze. The world came crashing back down on Max, and she realized who she was with. She pushed her self away from him, and climbed out of the water, squeezing the water of her hair.  
  
She turned to look at him, he was still in the water. "Why did you do that?" she asked angry. She had felt away from herself when he kissed her. She had felt out of control. A feeling which she hated. "You had no right to do that" she shouted at him.  
  
"You didn't seem to mind a minute ago" Alec said climbing out of the water, "In fact, I think you enjoyed it" he commented, giving his cocky smile.  
  
"Well then you thought wrong" She said. "why would you do that. It's cold, and I'm wet. I still have to run the perimeter three times before I can go in, and you decide it's a good time to kiss me?" she was furious.  
  
He moved closer to her, and put a hand on her shoulder, and brushed the hair out of her face. "So I have bad timing" he said. He moved closer still, and brought his face closer still. He moved his lips down towards hers, and attempted to kiss her again, but he moved away from him.  
  
"Alec, it will never be the right time" she said, and she took of at a run. Alec didn't bother trying to catch her. He kicked a near by tree, cursing to himself. He had really scrued things up.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jondy looked up from her magazine when Max came in. She always had a magazine, she had a little deal working with one of the guards. But the magazine was quickly forgotten when she saw Max. She was soaking wet, and frowning. Without saying anything, she plopped down on her bed, which was across the small room from Jondy's. When Max was around eleven, they were all separated. Max now roomed with Jondy, Ben with Zack, Krit with Zane, Tinga with Syl, Eva with Brin, and Alec roomed alone:( "Something wrong?" Jondy asked after Max said nothing for a few moments.  
  
"No, nothing's wrong, why would anything be wrong?" Max answered too quickly. Jondy just shook her head. If Max wasn't going to tell her what was wrong, there was no getting it out of her. She went back to reading her magazine.  
  
A minute latter Max stood up, and went to the trunk at the foot of her bed, and grabbed out a pair of dry sleeping clothes, and changed into them. She paced the room a few times then went over to their window. "I need to do some thinking" she told Jondy. Jondy nodded, and watched as Max squeezed through the small window, and climbed up the side of the building to the roof top.  
  
They weren't supposed to leave their rooms after lights out, and it was forbidden to go to the roof, ever since their alter was discovered ten years ago. But they did it any ways. Max and Ben more then anyone else. Max, because she didn't sleep, and Ben because he still believed that the blue lady would hear him. Max didn't know if she believed in the blue lady anymore, but it was still nice listening to Ben's stories. when she reached the top, she was not at all surprised to see Ben up their, starring at the stars in the sky, "Looking for her?" Max said in a light tone walking up behind him.  
  
"She IS real Max" he said quietly. He turned and looked at her with a smile though. He put a hand in her hair, "Your wet. Mind if I ask why?" he said still smiling, bringing his hand back to his side.  
  
"I'll give you one guess" Max said grumpily. But she didn't let him guess, she went right on to say, "It's all Alec fault" with an angry tone.  
  
"Of course. Please, enlighten me with new tales of my twin brother" Ben said sarcastically. His tone surprised her. He was usually always willing to listen with out a critical ear. He noticed her wounded look, then smiled again, "Sorry, now really tell me all about it" he said in the tone she was looking for.  
  
"First he has to pick a fight with Krit" she said angrily "Then I get in trouble for it wit him" she walked over to the edge of the roof and looked off, not wanting to face Ben for the next part of the little story. "Then he falls into that pond thing out by the perimeter, and pulls me down with him, which by the way is why I'm wet. And then, as if that wasn't bad enough, he kissed me" she said the last part quickly, thinking that maybe Ben would hear it, and wouldn't ask about it.  
  
No such luck. "What? He kissed you?" Ben said coming up behind her. "Why, did you want him to?" Ben asked hesitantly.  
  
"What?" Max asked amazed at the idea, "Of course not. I can't stand him" she sat down and brought her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her legs. "I hate him" she mumbled quietly into her knees.  
  
Ben sat down next to her, and put himself in the same position, but more relaxed. "Well, I can kill him if I have to" his tone was serious, but Ma knew he was joking. "Every one will just think that he went AWOL and killed himself. No one would ever suspect me. I'm a good soldier" he said.  
  
Max let herself smile, and leaned against her brother. "Sounds like a plan to me" she said.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A/N- once again, what happened in this chapter doesn't mean it's going to be a Max/Alec fic. As I said before. There are many things that are going to happen in this fic that will make it seem like a Max/Alec, or a Max/Zack. Though one couple will dominate over the other after a few more chapters. And I'll also warn you that this fic will have some angst in it. It's not going to be fluff like some of my other pieces of work. I'm trying to make this one completely different from the others. Thanks for reading, and please review!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	5. A Different Day

A different life A different day She saw him walking out of his room, just as she was, on their way to breakfast. His dark untamed hair falling into his handsome face. His gray T- shirt half tucked in around his well built body. As he turned and saw her, his green eyes glimmered with mischief. He ran a well sculpted hand through the mass of curls on his head, and walked over to her. "Hey Maxie" Zane said. His full mouth was made to smile, and it took a special kind of woman to not melt when those soft pink lips curled up around perfect white teeth. Max noticed a small bruise standing out against his fair skin near his eye, and reached out a hand and touched it, "I'm guessing this was a battle scar?" she said frowning. Zane's smile disappeared for a moment at this remark, but then returned as he thought of a reply, "You should of seen the other guy" he said nodding. "I did" Max said, anger laced through her tone, "While I was walking the perimeter with him on an empty stomach" she glared at him for a moment, but soon cracked at his wounded face. Zane was one of those people who you could just never stay mad at, no matter how hard you tried. "So, what was this fight about?" she asked. "He's crazy Max, that's all I have to say" he said looking away. "I have a feeling you'll be more talkative in morning warm ups, your fighting me today" she said with a grin. she was relieved to not have to face Alec. "What day is it?" Zane asked. "Tuesday" Max replied, "Why" she asked curious. "Well, then we wont be talking at all. It's the second Tuesday of the month. Renfro or Lydecker will be watching" he said grimly. She knoded. Zane put his arm around her shoulders in a playful big brotherly way, "Now, let's get to our morning meal. I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse" he said. "That's a lovely image" Max said smiling at him. She cringed though as she realized what this day meant. Everything they did would be watched. She wouldn't be able to talk to Zack. Not really any ways. "Aren't you two standing a little close?" A small but strong female voice came from behind them. "Keep your distance. We're soldiers, not school kids". Max turned around to see the well known face of Eva. She stepped away from Zane. Eva was a small girl, but she held the strength of ten men in her tiny body. She stood two inches shorter then Max. Her Blue eyes sparkled with intelligence. Her thin lips were framed by a stiff jaw that covered up the otherwise soft features of her face, yet made her no less beautiful. Her thin blonde hair was pulled back in a tight pony tail, never a strand out of place. Eva was one to keep herself together. She was tough, less feeling then the others, or so she would have people to believe. She hid herself behind a stiff presence, but she was no less capable of love then the others. To Max, Eva was the female version of Zack. Max loved Eva as much as she loved Jondy, or Tinga, or any of them, but they had never been close. She always felt judged around her. Eva was the older sister that couldn't be pleased. "Well, you've caught us Eva, me and Max are secret lovers" Zane said, his voice thick with annoyed sarcasm. Max glared at him, then turned to Eva. "Seriously Max, you know what day it is. They'll be watching us all day." she said. Zane rolled his eyes, "then let them see" he said with his defined smile. But he didn't move towards her again. They began to walk back towards the dinning hall, the moment of happiness once again destroyed by the harsh reality of Manticore. Max hated this day. It was about as rotten as it got. What little privacy they got was taken away for twenty-four hours. Everything they did was watched. Their fights, their recreational time, and they were judged. And she had a very bad feeling about this day. Her stomach tightened with stress. "It's just one day Maxie" Zane said in his warm voice. "I'll let you win if ya want" he said, allowing a trace of cockiness into his voice. Max looked up at him and saw his arrogant grin. She thought it amusing that he and Alec held such hatred for each other. They were so much alike. "Let me win? Like you could ever beat me" she said raising an eyebrow at him. "Ask Jondy, I've gotten much better" he said. Zane usually fought Jondy in one on one. Max rolled her eyes. Every time she was about to fight him, he claimed that he had gotten better. But he never beat her. Max, Ben, Zack, and now Alec, were at the top of their class. They turned around the corner, exiting their hall of rooms. They entered the dinning hall, and Max's stomach made another flip at the scent of the food. It was oatmeal. Her least favorite meal. But she knew that she would need a breakfast to get her through the next few hours. So she stood in the line, and excepted the off white mush, and a tall glass of milk, then made her way over to the table. She took a seat next to Zack, who was pretending that he hadn't noticed her entrance. Max thought it almost cute that he thought he could fool her so easily. She had known him her entire life. She saw the way the mussels in his back tensed through his shirt as she walked over to the table. She put her lips close to his ear, "I need to talk to you" she said so quietly that only an X5 could hear. Unfortunately, she was sitting at a table full of X5s. Ben, who was sitting across from her, and Tinga, who was next to her, both lifted up their heads and looked at Max. She fiend innocence. "No we don't" Zack said, he didn't bother keeping his voice down, he wasn't foolish enough to think that the others wouldn't hear them. "Yes we do" Max said. Zack turned to her and crossed his arms. His eyes were full of CO, showing no signs of big brother or...... Or whatever else had been going o between them. If there was anything else at all. "Please?" Max said. She made her eyes large, and bit her lower lip. It was her oldest trick, and she felt bad for pulling it on Zack. She had found when she was young, that she could get most anything out of someone, Someone male that is, when she made this look. "Fine" Zack gave in. "But don't think it's because of that pathetic look. I'll assure you that I am quite amune to it" He said sternly. "Tonight, on top of the building., at the high place" he told her. Max smiled and nodded. She turned back to the slop that was her breakfast. She took three large bites, then downed her glass of milk in four gulps. Today would be a long day. A long unpleasant day. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A/N-Okay, I know it's not much after such a long absence. But I'm having some trouble with writers block, and I want this to be good. I don't want to write it in a hurry, then find that everything has been out of control. I'm also in the process of creating a new piece. It will either take place after freak nation, or love among the ruins. Probably love among the ruins, since I don't know how to deal with all the events of Freak nation. Plus, I might have to approach the whole latex glove think, which by the way gives me the shivers. I'd just like to stay away from that whole situation. So any ways, please read and review this chapter, and keep an eye out for my new piece. If you have any suggestions for the new piece, feel free to E- mail me at lovely_lady_igraine@yahoo.com. 


	6. A different departure

A/N, sorry about the wait on this guys. But, life's been busy. And I haven't had much time. Hopefully, this will be worth the wait. please please review  
  
A Different Life A different departure  
  
  
  
Max hit the mat with a thud. Zane was instantly on top of her, holding her down. From the corner of her eye she could see a satisfied look on Renfros face. She growled and used all her strength to roll over, so that she now had the upper hand in the battle. His dark curls bounced as his head hit the ground. Zane was getting better. Much better then she remembered. It now seemed more likely that she wasn't going to win.  
  
She hated this day. She hated being watched. She new that their fights were always videotaped. But that was different. They weren't in front of everyone, and the videotapes had no sound. She struggled against Zane's strength, trying to hold him down. He had his hands in a tight grip around her slim waist. Max could see his mussels flexing through his sun darkened skin as he tried to push her off of him.  
  
A breath latter he was on top again. His Green eyes starring in to her brown ones with a deep intensity. He mouthed the word sorry as the five seconds ticked pass, and she lost. To Zane. As long as she had been in Manticore, which was 19 years now, she had never lost to Zane. And now, at her physical peek, she just had.  
  
"Back in line soldiers" Renfro said, with a serpent like smile playing across her lips. Zane rolled off of her and onto his feet. Max hopped up, rubbing her now sore neck. She saw Zane rubbing his head as he moved into line next to Ben. Max moved back into her place next to Zack. "599 and 656, step forward!" Lydecker said. Max notice he slipped a small glare at Renfro as he said this. Zack and Tinga stepped forward, and moved over to the mat that was used for fighting.  
  
Max chose this time to Zone out. She stared up at the sky, watching birds fly over. The sun shone in her eyes, blinding her for a moment. It warmed her face, and washed peace over her. This peace was quickly interrupted by Renfros yell for Eva and Zack to get back in line. She opened her eyes, to see Zack climbing off of Tinga. He had won. She knew he would. He had never lost. Not even to Ben.  
  
Lydecker moved in front of them now. Walking slowly, eyeing each of them. He stopped in front of Alec. "X5-494" He said louder then necessary.  
  
"Yes sir" Alec said stepping forward, and standing at attention.  
  
"When what your last mission soldier?" Lydecker asked, voice now softer. Max new that Lydecker knew the answer to this. What she didn't know, is what the point of this was.  
  
"The Berrisford Agenda sir" Alec answered. Max noticed his flinch at the name Berrisford. His eyes looked sad again.  
  
"And your mission was to....." he trailed off, waiting for Alec to finish his sentence for him.  
  
"My mission sir, was to assassinate Robert Berrisford, and his daughter Rachel" Alec's expression turned absolutely blank now. But Max could hear the pain in his voice as he said Rachel. She wanted now, more then ever to know what had happened.  
  
"Ahh.. yes I remember now" Lydecker said. "Well, report to Mission administration. We've got a new job for you" Max could almost see Alec's eyes popping out of his head. "599, you'll be going with him" he turned to Zack.  
  
"Yes sir" Zack said. Max saw his jaw clenching, and knew that he was not happy about this mission. She reached her hand out and brushed his fingers subtlety. He glanced at her and turned, walking away with Alec towards the main building.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Max sat nervously in the recreational room, bobbing her foot up and down. It was her Zane and Jondy. Jondy was flipping through one of the few magazines they were allowed to read, and Zane was sitting next to her on the couch. No one said anything.  
  
Finally, Zane, being unable to take it anymore, Reached out a hand and laid it on Max's knee, holding her still. "Would you stop that Max" he asked looking at her annoyed (not an expression he got often with her), "Your making me nervous" he told her.  
  
"Sorry" she said quietly. She was waiting for Zack to show up. She was hoping that he wouldn't be sent out until the next day, so that she could still talk to him. But she hadn't seen him since he was sent away at one on ones.  
  
A moment latter Syl walked through the door. Her face was dark, sad. She didn't look at any of them. She just walked right on over to the book shelf, and picked up one of the books. Zane got up after five minutes had past with out a word from Syl. He walked over to her, and gently took the book away from her, "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice soft and caring.  
  
"Their moving him" she said. Fear struck Max. Moving who? And where? And why? "They said that we were to close. "That our relationship was un excepteble That it would distract us from developing as soldiers. So they're relocating him" she looked up at Zane, who looked back at her, speechless.  
  
An icy pain stabbed Max through the heart. Krit. Her brother. Was leaving. "They're not even moving him to another group" Syl went on, "they're sending him to their other base".  
  
Max wanted to pull her hair out and scream. She couldn't believe this. They were taking someone away. Again. Another one of her siblings would disappear. She didn't understand. They had been good. Great soldiers they were. The top of their class. Yet they were still stuck in hell.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"You're leaving tomorrow morning?" Zane asked Krit quietly.  
  
Krit nodded. "When Alec and Zack get sent out on their mission, I'm going. They'll drop of them, and then fly me off. Or ship me off as Renfro said. Like I'm just some type of supply" he could still remember the delighted look on Renfros face when she told him he was to be sent away. And now, this was his last night, and he wasn't even allowed to leave the room. He had to prepare his belongings. Not that he really had any. It was mainly just clothing. Training out fits, and battle practice attire.  
  
Then a few things that he wasn't supposed to have. Pictures. From away missions. Most were from one of his more recent away missions with Syl. He had one of her standing in the sun in a white dress that fell a few inches above her ankles. Her hair shone like gold, and her blue us sparkled. It had been on the off hours. They were near a beach, and neither of them had ever seen the ocean, so the went their.  
  
There was one of him, Zane and Max together at a hotel. Then there was one of Zack and Ben. They were both smiling, which was unusual. He had one of Tinga and Jondy lounging by a pool at their hotel, and then one of Brin and Eva sleeping after a mission.  
  
They all had pictures from off hours. Manticore didn't know about any of it. On off hours they always got a camera and took pictures. Off hours were the highlights of all their lives. For brief time periods they could explore the towns, and act as normal people.  
  
Krit didn't seem the point of off hours now. He couldn't spend them with the people he loved anymore. He looked at the last picture in the pile. It was of him and Syl. It was from a mission they had gone on with Eva. In the picture he had his arm wrapped around her soldiers, and their cheeks were pressed together as they smiled for the camera.  
  
Tears formed behind his eyes as he thought about how he would never see her again. She was his light. She lived in his soul. With out her, there would be only darkness. He blinked back the tears, soldiers don't cry he told himself. And he tucked the pictures safely away in a bundle of clothing.  
  
He looked up and saw Zane standing above him. He quickly got to his feet and stood in front of his brother. Zane put a hand on Krit's shoulder. "I'll miss you pal" he said.  
  
Krit nodded. "The feelings not mutual" he said joking. Zane punched him in the shoulder, "Ow" Krit said bringing up a hand to rub the sore spot. "I'm just kidding, I'll miss you too.  
  
With that, Zane hugged him. It was a very brotherly hug. After Syl, Krit knew he would miss Zane the most. He would have no one to joke with now. No one to make fun of. No one to talk to at night. When the hug was over, Krit produced a letter from his pocket, and gave it to Zane, "Give this to Syl for me" he said.  
  
Zane took the letter, and put it n his pocket. He then pulled a letter out of his other pocket and gave it to Krit, "Syl told me to give this to you, if you had one for her. Zane went back to his bed, and laid on him back staring at the ceiling, zoning out. One of his many talents.  
  
Krit laid on his own bed, and read the letter.  
  
  
  
Dear Krit,  
  
Growing up at Manticore, we don't learn of emotions,  
  
only life skills, as they call them. Love is basically a  
  
foreign word to all of us. I don't eve know a direct  
  
definition of love. All I know is you. And that the  
  
Realization that I'm never going to see you again,  
  
causes nothing but pain.  
  
Promise you wont forget me at this other Manticore,  
  
and I swear to never forget you.  
  
I'll care for you always, ~Syl  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Zack was waiting on the roof for Max when she arrived. His blond hair blew softly in the light breeze. Other then that though, his dark silhouette stood completely still. His back was to her, his front facing the open world. "Did you here?" Max asked softly, with out a hello.  
  
Zack turned and nodded. "They were careless Max. They stopped caring, and they got caught. They have no one to blame but themselves" he said flatly.  
  
"Why do you always have to be so cold Zack?" Max asked, upset with him.  
  
"I'm not cold Max, I'm just thinking. Something you all have apparently lost the ability to do" he threw back at her.  
  
"Oh come on Zack. Just for once pretend to care. Just once. He's our brother, and he's being taken away. But it doesn't touch you. Why?" she asked.  
  
Max would swear that she saw flames in those blue eyes. "Don't you ever, EVER say I don't care. You think this doesn't touch me Max. Everything you guys do touches me. EVERYTHING. All I do is care" He yelled at her.  
  
"Oh please" she said turning away from him. "Spare me the drama. The only thing you care about is the mission. Being a good soldier. The golden boy."  
  
"You believe that don't you" Zack said. "You really believe that. Well you're wrong. I care more then you could possibly know" he said, anger flaring in his voice.  
  
"Oh, and what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Max asked turning around to face him again. Before she could think, his lips were against hers. His hands on her waist, lifting her to her toes, so that he could more easily reach her mouth. Max responded immediately. Her hands moving over his, caressing the smooth skin of the back of his hands. They moved up, resting on his shoulders.  
  
The cool night blew her hair behind her, as they stood, the unlikely couple, kissing on the roof. 


	7. A different escape

A different life  
  
A different escape  
  
Max stepped reluctantly away from the warmth of Zack's body. "So, what's this mission they're sending you and Alec on?" She asked not looking him in the eyes. She didn't like the idea of the two of them together. One could start talking, and that could not possibly end well.  
  
"Oh, that" Zack said quietly. His voice was deeper then usual she notice, more raspy. "It's not even a real mission. It's more of a 'Let's send 599 out to baby-sit 494 to make sure he doesn't go crazy and try to escape'" Zack said, his tone holding anger. "Have I ever told you how much being CO sucks?" he asked.  
  
"I thought you liked bossing us around" Max said smiling up at him. He glared at her. "I'm just joking" she repented herself. "Be kind to him" she said in a more serious tone. He looked at her, his brows furrowed together. "When he was growing up, it wasn't like it is with us. They weren't close in his group, he had no one. And whatever happened to him last year, it wasn't good. So just, be kind. For me" She reached up and touched his shoulder to appeal to him.  
  
"I'll try. But I only have so much tolerance" Zack said smiling at her. "We better get back to our rooms now. I have to leave at the crack of dawn. And some of us need sleep" he shifted positions a bit. "There sending Krit with us" he told her. "They're dropping us off, then taking him to some plane, helicopter place thing".  
  
"Try to get one last picture for me 'kay?" she asked him. He nodded She stood up on her tip toes and brushed his cheek with a kiss. His face was cold, and red from the weather, is sent shivers down her spine. "I'll miss you" Max said timidly, before turning and rushing away before he could respond.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
"Hey Jo" Max walked into they're room, using the nick name for Jondy reserved for her use only. Jondy didn't look up, she just continued to curl her soft hair around her fingers. "You Down about Krit leaving?" Max asked.  
  
"No, well, Yeah, but that's not actually what I was thinking about" she said, still not looking up. Max gave her a 'tell me what's on your mind' look. "That guy, Logan, what do you think they'll do to him?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know. Kill him maybe if he has to much information. More likely that they'll just shut down his little eyes only deal thing, and probably ruin his life in some way or another. Does it matter?" Max said to her sister.  
  
"Max, we just ruined somebody's life, of course it matters" Jondy said rather loudly to her oblivious sister.  
  
Max didn't seemed touched by the incident, she was acting almost airheadish. Leaning back on her bead against the wall, twirling her dark curls around her finger. "Jo, it's not like we haven't done it before. I don't see what the big deal is. They give us orders, we do it, they give us a cookie when we get back" she said lightly.  
  
"I must of missed my cookie this time around" Jondy said irritated that Max didn't understand. She had always understood before, about anything. "I'm going out" she said standing up.  
  
"Curfew was two hours ago" Max said. It was a flat comment lacking any form of concern, or anything else.  
  
"Yeah, well that didn't stop you from meeting Zack on the roof" Jondy said slipping silently out the door. Curfews at Manticore were pointless. They could get pass the guards and cameras at night if they chose. Not that they had free range or anything. It would be impossible to escape, Jondy had thought it over before.  
  
But she did wonder if they let them get away with sneaking out. It was painfully easy, but she knew they were being watched. She wondered if they let them have this freedom so everyone wouldn't rebel. She had heard about one unit of X-5s escaping in '09. Some of them were killed, but most of them made it. Security had tightened since then though.  
  
On this night Jondy decided to go where she always does when she skips out. There was an open field behind Manticore that they used for training during the day. At night it was empty, and you could see the moon. But Jondy went, because she knew that some one else would be there. And the second she stepped out she was proven right, because there in the middle of the field she saw his figure.  
  
He was standing up with his back arched back a little, staring at the moon. His curls were distinctly outlined in the moon light. The out line of his soft featured face seemed to glow. He turned when he saw her approaching, and the moon reflected in his eyes, making them twinkle. "Max?" he called out.  
  
Jondy felt a stab of pain. Her out line looked nothing like Max's, and she knew it. Zane knew it too, he was just hoping. "No" she called back, "It's your other prettier more fun sister" she said.  
  
"Oh, hey Jondy" he said sounding slightly disappointed. "What's up?" He asked her. "You down about Krit leaving?". He Walked towards her, and ruffled her hair in a very big brotherish way.  
  
She wanted to do the same to him, run her fingers through his soft dark curls, and watch them spring back up. But she didn't. When he did it to her, he didn't think about it, just did it. It was more if she did it to him. She nodded her head though, and he put his arm around her. "Don't worry, things will all work out. They always do.  
  
He smiled down at her, his face looking gentle and kind. Almost angelic. His face was made to smile, and she loved it when he did. She leaned into him and closed her eyes. Allowing the warmth of his body to seep into hers. "I know" she said. "It has to be".  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Alec Sat next to Zack, and Zack sat next to Krit, in the back of a very sleek looking black car. Zack and Krit were making hand motions back and forth to each other, and Alec tried to follow them. IT was no use though, it had not been the ones they were trained with, it was completely foreign to him.  
  
He looked out the tinted windows, watching the people go about their business. Some of them were bums on the street, some were people off to work. He saw a girl with brown hair ride by on her bike. The sun reflected off of it, and it shone like woven gold. She reminded him of Rachel, and he felt a sudden Ache for her.  
  
He decided that looking out the window was a bad idea, after seeing four more girls that reminded him of her. She instead looked strait ahead at the dark sound proof glass ahead of them, cutting them off from the two drivers.  
  
"Alec," Zack said softly looking at him for the first time in the trip. Alec looked back at him. "We're gong to get Krit out of here, You can help or not, what's it going to be?" Zack asked.  
  
Alec looked back at him shocked. The first thought that came to him was that he would help. Surely if he helped Krit escape the group would finally accept him. But the images of psyops flowed through is head. Lasers in his eyes, brutal beatings and reindoctronation. Or worse, what if they decided they just didn't need him anymore, and locked him in the basement with the anomalies forever.  
  
He slowly shook his head, "I can't" he said, his voice cracking on the words. "I'm sorry, but I can't" Anger flashed through Zack's eyes, but the it was replaced by understanding. He nodded his head. And the quickly, seemingly out of nowhere Zack pulled something out. It had barely glinted in Alec's vision when he felt a sharp pain on the side of his head. Then, there was only darkness.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"You ready?" Zack asked Krit. Krit nodded his head. "Are you sure you still want to do this? Once we start we can't stop.  
  
"I'm sure" Krit mumbled quietly. Zack nodded his head. They both hunched back, and put their fee up to the glass that separated them. "One" Krit said. They leaned down further. "Two" Zack said, they bent their legs at the knees pulling back. "Three" they said together. They Shoved their feet forward with all their strength, breaking easily through the glass. Krit's feet hit the driver at the back of his neck, the drivers head shot forward, and hit the steering wheel at full force. He didn't move.  
  
Krit then scrambled into the from of the car, pushed the driver aside, and regained control of the car. "Brace yourself" he shouted back to Zack. Zack leaned back down, getting ready. He put an arm over Alec chest, to protect him. The Car swerved and ran right into a wall. Krit got out, and pulled the driver back into place, then shut the door.  
  
Zack got out also, and put a hand on Krit's shoulder. "This is it" he said. "I'll see you again, or I wont" he removed his hand, and started to turn away.  
  
Krit grabbed him in a hug before he could get back in the car though. "Good-bye big brother" he said. "Take care of everyone" he stepped back from him. Zack nodded.  
  
He sat back in the car again, and handed up the medal flashlight they had used to knock out Alec to Krit. Krit nodded, and raised it above his head. Before he could bring it down, Zack raised his hands up, "Stop, wait" he said. Krit stopped and looked at him, waiting. "One question. Was it worth it?"  
  
"Was what worth it?" Krit asked confused.  
  
"You know" Zack said. "Syl. What you guys had. Was it worth it? Worth leaving us all behind? Worth risking your life?" He asked.  
  
Krit looked down for a moment, in thought. "I asked my self that same question last night, well trying to sleep. I wasn't so sure at first. But about have way through the night it hit me. I've known this thing called love that everyone out here is so obsessed with. These people, all around us, they read books about it. They search for it. And most of them never find it. But love....." He paused for a moment, thinking over his next words carefully, "love found me. Lave slept in the bed next to mine until I was 11. Love was my partner for the 19 years of my life. And it's wonderful Zack. So, how could anything not be worth it?" he finished his speech.  
  
"You always were soft" Zack said, but Krit could almost see a smile on his stern face.  
  
"Oh that's it. I'm really going to enjoy hitting you now" he said. Zack nodded he was ready. Krit hit him over the head with the flash light. It was quick, Zack barely had time to register the pain before the darkness. Krit took one last look at his brother and Alec, and turned around and ran. He had to get out of Seattle fast.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	8. A different Story

A Different Life  
  
A Different Story  
  
A/N- I'm looking for someone to edit my stories. I spell check, and I proof read, but what can I say? I failed English in high School. If you would like to, or if you know someone who would, please e-mail me at Lovely_lady_igriane@yahoo.com, or IM me. My aol name is iagraine5, and my msn one is spikeisacutie. You can also feel free to IM me, or E-mail me if you just want to chat. Thanks ~Igraine~  
  
Please please please review :)  
  
Alec awoke with a fierce headache. Some one was shining a flashlight in his face. He shook his head away from them to get the light out of his face. "He's awake" the man above him said. Alec recognized him as a Manticore official.  
  
"Ask him what happened, we'll see if it matches 599s story" he heard someone else say. The new voice sounded a lot like Lydecker.  
  
"X5-494" The man said. Alec sat up strait, ignoring the great pain in his head. "Tell us what happened" the man demanded.  
  
Alec saw Zack standing behind the official. His eyes were pleading with him. Alec tried to remember what happened. He remembered Zack asking him to help Krit escape, and then it was a blur. He thought quickly. "I'm not exactly sure what happened" Alec said, he made himself sound as confused as possible, which wasn't hard since he wasn't really sure exactly what DID happen. "I think I was dozing off or something. I was dreaming about something, and then I was awakened by a sharp pain on my head. And then darkness". The man looked a little disappointed that this was all he had to say. "Sorry, that's all I can remember" Alec finished.  
  
Lydecker pushed the man away, and took his place. He looked Alec right in the eye, which he knew was pointless, because X5s were trained to lie. "I don't think he's lying. Up until the incident he had a spotless record, and he knows what another incident would bring him" he said.  
  
He turned to the other man. "We're going to have to believe 599's story. He is our best soldier. The drivers are dead so we cant ask them, and he was the one to call in. And just look at that lump on his head" the other man said.  
  
Lydecker nodded his head, though he looked reluctant to agree. "Very well them, get them medical attention, and then send them along on their mission" he said. "If there's any sign of anymore trouble, then send them immediately back to Manticore". And with that, he turned and walked over to his black car, and got in.  
  
Alec saw Zack let out the smallest sigh of relief as he walked over to one of the medics. Alec went to the other, and let them poke and prod at him, bandaging up his head, and checking for further injury. It was a woman tending to him, and when she was done, he smiled down at her. She blushed, her green eyes twinkling, then handed him a bottle of pills. "Take one, no more then two of these if your head hurts to an unbearable point" she said.  
  
"No problem" Alec said, taking the bottle of pills. "But, I'm feeling much better now, thank you very much" he smiled again, and the woman blushed even more. The woman was pulled away by her coworker, but Alec winked at her quickly first.  
  
He laughed quietly to himself. It had been a long time since he had shamelessly flirted with a normal. The smile on his face was quickly turned to pain however, when Rachel jumped into his mind.  
  
"Let's go" Zack said. Alec looked up, and followed him into the new car.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
  
  
Max plopped down on the extremely uncomfortable couch in the recreational room. She laughed at the name of the room. They were allowed recreational time once a week, if all behaved in the section. They had an old black and white TV that only got in news channels and war movies, previously screened by the staff of course.  
  
There was a small book shelf with a selection of books, that rarely changed. A few magazines were also on the shelf, but nothing very interesting. The books were made up of old titles such as Catcher and the rye, Of human Bondage, Cannery Road, and other such Classics. They were only allowed those so that they might have something to speak of with people on the outside during away missions. Which is also why they had the TV.  
  
The only good thing about the room was the pool table. But nobody ever wanted to play pool, because Alec, or Jondy always won. Always.  
  
Max pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her feet on the couch, and closed her eyes. She was so worried about everything. About an hour earlier Lydecker had been called away from their strategy training. The man who had come for them had said something about X5-471, Krit. She was so worried about him. They hadn't been informed what happened, and she knew that she probably wouldn't know until Zack and Alec got back.  
  
That is if Zack and Alec hadn't gotten themselves in a mountain load of trouble. She knew That Zack was behind this what ever it was. He had to be. And she feared what would happen to him.  
  
She heard someone enter the room, and she could tell by the sound of the steps that it was Jondy. They had a certain bounce to them, an energy that wasn't often found anywhere else. She plopped down right next to Max on the couch. Max could tell, with out looking up, that she was very proud of herself for something. And being Jondy, Max knew that she very much wanted to share it.  
  
Max however, had no interest in what it was. She evened out her breathing, hoping to elude her sister into believing that she was asleep. But it didn't work, Jondy, deciding that Max wasn't going to ask her, started chattering.  
  
"Want to play some pool?" She asked cheerfully. Max didn't answer. That didn't stop Jondy though. "I know something you don't know" she sing- songed.  
  
"And I know something you don't know? Max said finally looking up. Jondy gave her a look. "I don't care" Max finished her statement.  
  
"Well, I know what happened with Krit" Jondy said with a smile that flashed her sharp cat like teeth.  
  
This instantly got her attention. She crossed her legs up on the couch, and turned towards the older woman, "What? what is it?" she asked with an urgency in her voice.  
  
"Oh, I think I may of gone and forgotten" Jondy said with an evil look. "That really is so like me" she let out an extremely fake sigh and frowned, looking at the ground.  
  
"Jooonnnndyyyyyy" Max said strutting out the name in some what of a whine.  
  
"Well, a game of pool might bring back my memory" she said with that same evil grin.  
  
Max caught on to Jondy's little game. "Fine" she said "I'll play your little game of pool" she got to her feet and walked over the pool table, Jondy right behind her. "Can you at least tell me how you found out?" she asked.  
  
"Max, I've told you before. A girl can find out whatever she wants from a man" Jondy said with a twinkle in her eye. "Let's just say, I was able to persuade a guard to tell me the information" she set up the game. "I break" she called.  
  
Max nodded in acceptance of this. "But what happened?" she asked. Jondy paid no attention. She simply played pool, getting two balls in on her first shot. "Jondy, will you tell me already? I'm tired of your little games" she said.  
  
Jondy made another shot, getting another ball in, then made another, just missing the corner pocket. "Damn" she said, "Your turn" she said to Max as if she hadn't been with holding information.  
  
Max glared at her, but took a shot. She missed by quite a long shot, but didn't care. "Can you at least tell me if they're all okay?" Max asked her, growing desperate for information.  
  
"Oh, They're all fine, at least they were when Zack made the call in" she said. She aligned up another shot, and once again made it in.  
  
""What? Zack made in a call? why would he do that?" She looked down just in time to see Jondy winning effortlessly.  
  
"I win" she said happily. Max shook her head. "Fine, I'll tell you since that's all you seem to care about. "What Zack said, was that Krit went crazy and attacked him and Alec. Zack and Alec were unable to stop him, since it was so unexpected, and were both knocked unconscious. When Zack came to, he saw that the car had been wrecked, and Alec was still out. He called to the drivers for help, but they were dead. Krit was gone. So he made the call in" Jondy stopped talking, done with her story.  
  
"But that can't be it" Max said. "Krit would never attack Zack, he very nearly worships him. He's his Brother. "And if this was so, then Zack wouldn't call in. He would try to escape" Max said.  
  
"I'm not saying that's what really happened, I'm just saying that that's what Zack said happened" Jondy said. "And don't be so sure that Zack would run. Krit ran because there was nothing for him where he was going. Zack still has the option of coming back here where we all belong. Would you run? Would you leave us all behind? Could you wake up every morning, with out me on the other side of the room? Could you go on knowing that all of us were still here?".  
  
Jondy's words hit Max like a rock. Could she leave in an instant, with out her brothers and sisters? Her heart already ached painfully knowing that she would never see Krit again. She now, more then ever felt trapped. She was more aware that she was caged in her like an animal. The only way she could ever leave, is if Lydecker himself decided to let all of them go. And what were the chances of that ever happening? 


	9. A different Pair

A different life A different pair  
  
"Bored now," Alec said, hitting his head against the wall of the hotel room for what Zack counted as the 34th time.  
  
"I know you're bored. I knew you were bored when you said that 5 minutes ago, and five minutes before that. And as I said then, we were told to wait until 5:00, which is when our subject will leave for work. Then you'll slip in, while I keep watch, and copy computer files. Then, you'll slip out, and we'll be home in time for breakfast." Zack said.  
  
Alec laughed bitterly. "Manticore isn't home," he said. "It's jail." He hit his head against the wall again.  
  
"Home is where your family is. Our family is at Manticore," Zack said.  
  
"Correction," Alec said, "Your family is back at Manticore, I have no family. Manticore is therefore my jail." Alec hit his head once again.  
  
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself. It may work with Max, but it's not going to work with me." Zack raised his voice. Alec just hit his head again. This began to drive Zack over the edge. "Would you stop doing that!" he shouted. "God, you are so annoying!" He went into the bathroom, and locked the door, turning on the water to tune out all noise from Alec.  
  
Alec continued to bang his head against the wall.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ben sat next to Max in the dinning hall. He put his hand over hers, to stop her tapping fingers. "They're okay Maxie, Manticore got a call" he said.  
  
"Sure they were okay when the call came in," Max said, her words coming out quickly, "But think about it Ben, do you really think that Zack and Alec are going to survive a day with just the two of them? They'll kill each other." She started taping the fingers of her other hand.  
  
Ben thought about it, then started to tap his own fingers nervously.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Alec began to hum to himself. It was no real song, just notes that he thought sounded nice in his head. He had moved on from hitting his head against the wall, to throwing a small rubber ball he had found under the bed. It hit the wall, then the floor, then came back to his hands.  
  
Zack came out of the bathroom, still frustrated by Alec's annoyance. But the water had started to turn brown, so he decided to turn it off. The hotel they were staying in was quite possibly the worst yet. The rug was brown from dirt. The bed had something questionable on the blanket, and the ceiling was leaking.  
  
"It's rather cold in here, don't you think?" Alec asked. Zack said nothing. "Cold indeed. I wonder if they have a heater in here." Alec continued to throw the ball against the wall.  
  
"Do you just sit and think of ways to annoy me?" Zack asked. This time Alec was the one not to answer. Zack walked in front of him, and grabbed the ball out of midair. He threw it at Alec, and it hit him in the head.  
  
"Somebody is in a bad mood," Alec said getting up and walking over to flop himself down on the bed.  
  
""I've been thinking about it," Zack said. "Do you know why we're not your family?" He asked Alec.  
  
"Because you're an exclusive little click, unwilling to accept change, with princess Max in the middle of it all." Alec said back to him.  
  
"No" Zack said flatly, "And I'll be sure to inform Max of that remark. The reason you're not a part of us is because you're so god damned annoying that no one can stand to be around you." Zack grabbed the ball that was now on the ground, and threw it out the window, to ensure that Alec wouldn't try to use it again.  
  
Alec had no response to this, so he asked the time.  
  
Zack looked at his watch and groaned. It was only 11:00.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Max threw a punch at Zane, and missed by a long shot. He reached out and grabbed her extended arm, twisting it behind her back, and throwing his free arm across her chest, pressing her against him. "You're off today," Zane said, "Usually I would have had my ass kicked on the floor by now." He let her free.  
  
"I'm just worried, that's all," she said.  
  
"You worry too much. Where's the fun in being so concerned with other peoples lives?" he asked.  
  
"What's the fun in being a genetically engineered super soldier?" She asked him.  
  
"I'll show you," he said. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door into the dark damp hall, "Just play along with anything I do or say," he told her. Max nodded.  
  
Zane saw a guard up ahead of them, and stomped roughly on Max's foot, "Limp" he said.  
  
Max smacked him on the head, "How could I not after that. Did you forget we have super strength? That hurt you dumbass," she said limping along with him.  
  
When they passed the guard Zane said, "I guess I played a little too roughly, her ankle is sprained or broken, or something. I'm taking her down to the medical wing." The guard nodded. "Something I've learned" Zane said quietly under his breath, "They hire guards here for strength, not brains. Lydecker would never let you break up training for an injury." He smiled down at her.  
  
"Where are we going?" Max asked, curious as to where her brother was taking her.  
  
"Somewhere that no one but another X5 could follow" he replied with a grin.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"1....2......3......4.......5...." Alec began to count.  
  
Zack groaned. Alec had been quiet for a while, and Zack was hoping that he was asleep. "What are you doing now?" He asked, once again annoyed by the presence of this X5.  
  
"Counting the cracks in the ceiling" Alec responded, "6...7..." he continued.  
  
"Why the hell are you doing that?" Zack asked.  
  
"You yelled when I was banging my head against the wall. You won't talk to me. You threw my ball out the window. What else am I supposed to do?" Alec asked.  
  
Zack thought for a moment. The man had a point. He had kind of cut off all other activities. But he wasn't about to apologize to Alec. "Count in your head," he said.  
  
"No" Alec responded. "8...9....." he counted more.  
  
Zack looked at his watch again. It was now 2:00. Only three more hours to go. He buried his head in his pillow, trying to block out the sound. It didn't work. Damn his enhanced hearing. He wasn't sure he would make it through the afternoon without killing himself or Alec.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Zane stopped at a window. It was one of the few windows in Manticore that didn't have bars. "Okay Maxie, Climb up the side of the building to the roof. It's not that far. It's easy, just like when we were kids, remember?" he instructed. "I'll be right behind you," he assured her.  
  
Max did as he told her, and climbed to the top of the roof. Zane had been right; it wasn't far up at all. He came up behind her only a moment after she had reached the top. "Now what?" she asked.  
  
"Well, see that tree?" Zane asked her, pointing to a nearby tree. A branch of it grew onto the roof. Max nodded. "We're going to dive off of it" Zane told her.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told I have squandered my resistance for a pocketful of marbles, Such are promises," Alec began to half mumble, half sing.  
  
"Are you singing?" Zack asked. Every new annoying thing Alec came up with brought Zack one step closer to the edge.  
  
"Nope" Alec said. "All lies and jest, Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest, hmmmm" he went on.  
  
"You are too singing" Zack said. "Why would you tell me you're not singing when you are?" he asked, frustrated.  
  
"Why would you ask if I was singing, if you already knew I was?" Alec threw back at him. "When I left my home and my family, I's no more than a boy in the company of strangers In the quiet of the railway station, runnin' scared, laying low, Seeking out the poorer quarters, where the ragged people go, Looking for the places only they would know." He continued his song.  
  
Zack lunged himself across the room attacking Alec. He had had enough. He would just cut off the oxygen long enough for Alec to pass out, then he would wake him when it was time to go.  
  
"Hey... look" Alec managed to say as Zack was trying to cut off his air. "It's 4:45".  
  
Zack jumped back from him. "Oh, great. Let's go" he said, as if he hadn't just tackled Alec to the ground.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~ 


	10. A Different Capture

A Different life  
  
A different capture  
  
"Dive off it? Are you crazy?" Max asked Zane.  
  
"Why not dive off of it?" he asked with a glint in his green eyes.  
  
"Zane, that's a pretty big jump, I'd rather keep both of my legs intact thank you" she said, turning to walk off the roof.  
  
"Oh come on Maxie, don't be such a chicken." Zane said, grabbing her arm to stop her. "We had to jump much farther distances then this on missions and in training. Besides, Me and Jondy do it all the time, and we're fine aren't we?" he asked.  
  
"I wouldn't say that, obviously it caused some trauma to your brain if you want to do it again" Max said tapping his forehead with her index finger.  
  
"Now, now, no need to hurt my feelings" Zane said with a mock pout. Max shook her head. "Listen, you asked me what the fun in being a genetically engineered super soldier was. Well, here it is, Max, we have the ability to jump off of that tree, dive through the air, hit the ground with a roll, and walk away without a scratch" he said.  
  
Max looked up into those big green eyes of his. She knew he wouldn't suggest something like this if he thought she would get hurt, but he could be so reckless sometimes. She shook her head again.  
  
"Maxie, it will be just like flying. I'll go first, and you'll see that I'm fine, then you can go, and you'll see all the fun you miss by being so straight edge all the time" Zane gave her a half crooked smile, one that she often had trouble saying no to.  
  
Flying. Flying would be like freedom. Freedom was something she had always longed for. She opened her mouth, knowing she would regret it. "Let's do it then" she said with a little nod.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So, tell me Zack, what is the deal with you and Max?" Alec asked Zack through the mouth piece of their communicators as he copied the computer files. So far he was 45 % done according to the red bar on the screen.  
  
"First of all, Manticore did not give us state of the art equipment so you could ask me about my personal life during a mission. And second of all, it's none of your business what goes on between me and Max" Zack replied annoyed.  
  
"So you admit that there is something then?" Alec asked raising an eyebrow.  
  
"That's not what I said" Zack replied quickly.  
  
"Well, what did you mean then?" Alec picked up a paper clip that was lying on the desk, and began to fiddle with it.  
  
"I meant it was none of your business" Zack said clenching his fist. "Now hurry up and copy those files so we can get out of here."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Okay, now watch what I do Max" Zane said. Max nodded. Zane grabbed onto the nearest branch of the tree, and swung himself off the roof and onto a long extended tree limb that stretched out over the field that they used for stargazing when they sneaked out at night.  
  
He stepped out to the end of the branch, with a look of concentration on his face. He paused for a minute, and turned back at her and gave a little smile and raised his eyebrows. Then, turning his back to the edge, he stretched his arms out to the side, and fell backwards.  
  
Max stepped quickly to the edge so she could see him land. She watched him roll in the air so that he faced the ground, then land in a crouching position, which quickly turned into a roll, then he jumped up to his feet, and looked up at her.  
  
Max shook her head. She couldn't believe he had talked her into doing one of his stupid games. But she always had found it hard to say no to him.  
  
Copying his movements she grabbed on to a branch and swung herself out onto a tree limb. She took careful steps out to the edge, and closing her eyes, fell forward in a dive. She felt air crash against her, blowing her hair behind her, and making her reluctant to open her eyes. But she knew that if she didn't, then she would crash into the ground. So, giving up the freedom that enclosed around her, she opened her eyes, and rolled in the air, so that she had an identical landing to Zane  
  
But she didn't get up to her feet afterwards; she just rolled onto her back, and looked up into the sky. The sun this day was blinding, making the grass warm underneath her. Zane was at her side a minute latter, lying next to her.  
  
"You think this is what normal people do?" Zane asked, "Lay in the sun all day, waiting for night?" he got up on his elbow and rested his head on his hand, looking down at her.  
  
"Maybe if they're lucky" Max said quietly. "But it's pretty trashed outside of these walls. I doubt that many people can" she said.  
  
"Yeah, you're prob- Uh Oh" Zack interrupted his sentence.  
  
Max looked up at her brother, "What?" she asked.  
  
"Busted" he said.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"You know Zack, it's not healthy to close yourself off like this to everybody. I mean, after all, one IS the loneliest number." Alec bent the clip into a circle as he spoke to Zack.  
  
"Alec, one is a fine number, a very comfortable number. So please leave me alone, I'm not going to tell you anything" Zack said. He looked around in another spot check, making sure no one was looking at him suspiciously. All clear.  
  
"Oh come on, open up to me Zack, please?" Alec said mocking a concerned voice.  
  
"Alec NO!" Zack said again.  
  
"You know Zack, no is the saddest experience you'll ever know" Alec said back to him.  
  
"Oh for Christ's sake Alec, if you quote that song one more time-" Zack was cut off by a loud buzzing noise in his earpiece. He tried to pull his earpiece out, but he found it hard to move. He tried to pull together the strength to say something to Alec, but he could only manage a mumble that almost sounded like his name.  
  
For some reason, the buzzing in his ear was affecting him in a strange way. He fell to his knees on the ground, and watched as his vision went blurry. He saw a blurred outline of what appeared to be a woman come towards him.  
  
"X5-599, what a pleasure it is to finally meet you" her voice was cat like. It sounded like a purr.  
  
Zack tried once again to say something, but he couldn't manage any words. He tried to turn his head to look up at the window of the room Alec was in to see if he was okay, but it was useless.  
  
"Oh now, don't worry about your friend, we'll take care of him too" The woman said.  
  
Zack's hearing was becoming impaired from the buzzing noise that continued in his ear. He looked back up at the woman; she was now holding a syringe in her hand, and taking another step towards him. Zack tried to back away, but it was useless.  
  
"Don't worry, the pain will be over shortly" she said, and shoved the needle into his neck. Zack's whole body went numb, and he fell over as he lost consciousness.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Max sat up, and looked over in the direction that Zane was looking. There was a strange-looking woman, who didn't look like Manticore coming towards them. She was wearing a Black business suit, with a skirt that seemed way to short. It clung to her small waist. She had very black hair, which seemed a deep blue in some places where the sun hit it. It fell to mid back, and was held back with a dark bow. Her eyes were an empty shade of gray, and the red lipstick she wore on her full lips made her skin look inhumanly pale.  
  
Max watched her as the woman walked towards her, and pulled out what looked like a gun. Zane quickly grabbed Max, and pulled her under him, "Max, stay down" he said to her. As if she could of moved. She had completely frozen up inside. There was a buzzing noise in her ears that made it impossible to do anything.  
  
She heard the gun the woman was carrying shoot something out, that didn't sound like a bullet. She watched a the needle hit Zane in the neck, and she stared up at him. His green eyes seemed to lose their twinkle, and his body fell completely onto her.  
  
The woman walked over to her, and rolled Zane off of her, "Hello 452" her smooth voice said to Max. And with that, she shot out another needle, which hit Max, and Max felt her world go dark around her.  
  
A/N- Well, here it is, another chapter to 'A Different Life'. I'd like to thank Scarlet, for motivating me to finally pull this story together. I have every other chapter to this one planned out; so it shouldn't take me long to finish it now. I hope that this chapter was worth the wait, and I hope it doesn't ever take me this long to get another chapter out again. Thanks for reading, and Please review. 


	11. A Different Room

Here it is guys! Sorry it took so long. By the way, if you're reading any of my other stories you might want to check my authors' page because some of them have been canceled. Review because I love you! ~*~*~*~  
"A Different Room"  
  
Dark.... It was the first conscious thought that came to Max's brain. All she could see was Dark. There was a cloth covering her eyes, the material was scratchy and unpleasant. She wanted it off.  
  
She tried to reach up with her hand when she realized something else. She was strapped down, her hands, her shoulders, her head, her legs, her thighs, her knees and her ankles. All of her. Strapped down. Then it all came back to her. The leap, Zane, the strange woman.  
  
Max started to panic. Her breath was coming short and she started struggling madly. It wasn't Manticore that took her, she was sure of this. She had to get out of there. She had the strength of ten men, she should be able to get loose of these bindings.  
  
"There's no point in struggling, you'll only hurt your self." Max recognized the voice immediately. It was the woman. "These straps were made for your kind, all you will succeed in doing is pulling a muscle, and getting a tranquilizer," she said with a purr in her voice.  
  
"Where am I?" Max spat her words out at the woman.  
  
"You're right where you've always been destined to be," the woman said.  
  
"Really? That's great, and where have I always been destined to be?" Max said, rather annoyed.  
  
"Well, right here of course," the woman replied.  
  
Max groaned. "And who are you?"  
  
"Well, currently I'm your keeper, but I've been other things in the past" the woman replied. "You may call me by Lady X when I allow you to speak."  
  
Max heard her heals clicking against the floor as she came closer. "And where is Zane?" Don't you dare tell me he's where he's always been destined to be," She added quickly.  
  
"I assume you mean X5 205. I know nothing of his destiny for it does not fall in line with mine. I assume he's back at Manticore, waking up from a bad headache right about now. Probably being hounded with question after question. Don't worry, you little friend is fine," Lady X mocked.  
  
"And what exactly is my destiny you keep going on about?" Max asked.  
  
"Oh I think perhaps I'll let him explain it to you. I mean, I am but a keeper, not a story teller" Max opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off. "Don't you worry, you'll find out in due time. After all, it is your destiny." She laughed, and the sound pierced Max's ears.  
  
"Now, I think it's time you go back to sleep until he's ready for you," the woman said. Before Max could say anything she felt a needle jab her the neck. The woman began to laugh again. The noise was so terrible that Max was sure she felt her head splitting open. She opened her mouth to scream out in pain, and then all went dark.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
When Max woke up a second time she was no longer bound, and she was no longer alone. She heard breathing to her left. She remained very still, assessing her situation. She was sprawled across a damp cold cement floor, and she heard a dripping noise, as if a pipe was leaking near by.  
  
The breathing she heard became faster, and sounded pained. It was followed by a whimpering cough. She decided that whoever was with her was no danger, and she sat herself up. Her arm felt sore; she saw it was bandaged. She didn't feel the need to investigate because the next thing she saw was Alec.  
  
He was on his back and unconscious. He was wearing pants but no shirt, and she could see that his body was thoroughly cut and bruised. She ran to him immediately, and found that her body was quite sore, as if bruised and cut itself. But she felt worried about Alec who as she saw, was in a fast, cold sweat. There was a particularly nasty wound on his forehead above his left eyebrow. It was still bleeding.  
  
Max ripped off a piece of cloth from the bottom of her pants and held it against the wound. He winced as she did this but came around a bit. His eyes were glazed over, but he seemed to recognize her. He let out a horrible racking cough. Max pulled him up into a sitting position and rubbed his back until he finished. His breathing became smooth again. After another moment, he spoke to her.  
  
"Are you hurt?" he asked her.  
  
Max could have laughed. There he was, beaten and bloody, yet his first words to her were about her own health. "I'm alright," she said, even though it was a lie. She was more aware every second of what poor condition she was in. The only difference was it appeared that her wounds had been tended. Alec, however, only had about half of his wounds tended to.  
  
"You're lying," he said. "I can see you're all bandaged up. I woke up in here a few hours ago, covered in bandages. I don't know what they've been doing to us. I know where this came from though," he said pointing to his head. "Not too long ago they brought you in here; I tried to escape. The guard beat me back quite easily. I think they're giving us something to weaken us," he told her.  
  
Max nodded her head, she didn't feel quite as strong as usual. "What happened to Zack?" she asked. "You were on a mission with him, did he get taken too?" she asked.  
  
Alec shook his head, "I'm not sure," he said. "I over heard a guard talking about a third though, so I'm guessing he did."  
  
"Do you know where we are?" Max asked.  
  
"Some kind of medical facility. It's not Manticore though, this isn't their style, and I haven't recognized any of the doctors or guards," he told her.  
  
Max was about to ask him if he knew how long they had been there, when she heard footsteps outside the door. She was suddenly afraid and she looked at Alec, hoping he would know what was going on.  
  
"Just throw him in there with the others," she heard a man say.  
  
A younger voice responded. "Yes sir, and if another escape attempt is made?"  
  
"There won't be," the first man answered.  
  
The door opened, and light flooded the room, a couple of men walked in. They dropped a man down and he let out a groan when he hit the ground. In the light, Max could see light colored hair; she would recognize that hair anywhere. It was Zack's. She left Alec and rushed over to Zack's side immediately.  
  
Zack, like Alec, had worked up quite a sweat. He seemed to be in worse condition then either her or Alec. That, and he had been handled with much less care. She pulled him up so that his head rested in her lap, then she brushed the hair out of his face.  
  
It was at this moment that she realized that another man had entered the room when Zack had been dropped. She looked up to see a shadow of a man looking back down at her.  
  
"Hello 452," his thick voice said. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Dr. White." The door shut behind him, leaving the room Dark again. 


End file.
